National
Hagel pledges to move ‘expeditiously’ on benefits for gay troops
Defense secretary nominee addresses ongoing Pentagon review
Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel faced his confirmation hearing before the Senate on Thursday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel has pledged to “move forward expeditiously” on the issue of extending partner benefits to gay service members if confirmed as defense secretary.
During his confirmation hearing on Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Nebraska Republican reiterated his support for open service and said he would do “everything possible” to extend equal benefits to all military families.
“As I’ve discussed with many of you in our meetings, I am fully committed to implementing the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and doing everything possible under current law to provide equal benefits to the families of all, all our service members,” Hagel said in his opening statement.
In written responses to committee questions made public on the same day as the hearing, Hagel promised to move “expeditiously” in response to an inquiry on whether he would ensure that the report from the Pentagon benefits review group is expedited and sent to Congress.
“If confirmed, I will work closely with the Department of Defense civilian and military leadership to move forward expeditiously on this issue and will inform the appropriate Congressional committees of decisions as they are made,” Hagel writes.
The U.S. military is prohibited from offering major partner benefits — such as health and pension benefits — to gay troops because of the Defense of Marriage Act and other laws, but other benefits — like military ID cards, joint duty assignments, access to family programs, legal services and housing — could be extended administratively at any time under secretarial directive.
Since the time “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was lifted in September 2011, Pentagon officials have consistently said they’ve been reviewing the benefits that could be extended to gay service members. However, no action has been taken.
Hagel addressed this ongoing review at the Pentagon in response to a question on the status of this report and when the group is expected to produce it.
“I understand that this review is not taking the form of a report, per se, but has involved assembling detailed information on individual benefits (including whether each such benefit might be made available under current law, and options for how to do so) to support decision making by the senior civilian and military leadership of the Department, and also that those decisions are currently under active consideration,” Hagel wrote. “If confirmed, I will review the work that has been undertaken during the course of the benefits review and will work closely with the Department of Defense civilian and military leadership to move forward expeditiously on this issue.”
Allyson Robinson, executive director of the LGBT military group OutServe-SLDN, praised Hagel for promising leadership on issues important to gay service members.
“After two years of equivocation and delay by Pentagon leadership, it is gratifying to see Sen. Hagel show the kind of clear, unambiguous support for our service members and their families we saw today,” Robinson said. “It is an historic day when issues critical to gay and lesbian service members and their families take center stage in a confirmation hearing for Secretary of Defense.”
But LGBT issues related to the military received scant attention during the question-and-answer portion of the hearing, which lasted about eights hours. Republican committee members, such as Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), instead focused on past comments Hagel made suggesting that he’s anti-Israel and is lenient on Iran. Democratic senators like Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) drew attention to the fact that Hagel would be the first secretary of defense who once served as an enlisted soldier in the Army.
Other members asked him about military programs important to their states, such as Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who asked Hagel about his commitment to naval programs and cyber warfare.
But in some portions, LGBT issues were referenced. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said she needs a “strong commitment” from Hagel that he’ll work to extend partner benefits for gay service members —in addition to confronting sexual assault against women, referencing reports that there are 19,000 such incidents in the military each year — and said the status quo won’t be acceptable.
“Well, you have my complete commitment on that,” Hagel said. “I’ve made that commitment to members of the committee that I’ve spoken to. I mentioned that point in my opening statement, if you recall.”
Gillibrand said she had already spoken to Hagel privately about these issues and was submitting a question to him for the record.
Another point of discussion relevant to LGBT service members took place when Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) asked about the “conscience” provision that was signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Authorization Act and whether Hagel would ensure that language won’t lead to discrimination against gay troops.
“Absolutely,” Hagel replied. “I will faithfully and diligently enforce our laws. All men and women deserve the same rights, and I can assure you that would be a high priority.”
But that response seemed to trouble Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss), who followed up at the start of his questioning by asking Hagel whether he believes a military chaplain can opt out of officiating over same-sex weddings. Hagel at first noted that same-sex marriage is legal in nine states, but Wicker sought additional clarification over whether a chaplain could bow out of those ceremonies.
“Certainly,” Hagel replied. “But what we don’t want, though — Sen. Udall’s point is — someone being denied to be married in a chapel or a facility.”
Protester at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Prior to the start of the hearing, a female protester apparently affiliated with GetEQUAL held a sign, reading, “We Serve Equally; We Deserve Equality,” and shouted at Hagel to make good on his promise to extend partner benefits to gay troops. She was escorted out by Capitol Police.
The issue of outstanding benefits for gay troops has received significant attention recently in the wake of a spousal club at the Fort Bragg Army base in North Carolina refusing to admit Ashley Broadway, the spouse of lesbian soldier Lt. Col. Heather Mack. The club, which initially said Broadway was unable to join because she lacked a military ID, ultimately granted Broadway full membership.
Still, groups such as OutServe-SLDN and the Human Rights Campaign have called on outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to take action on the benefits issue before his retirement.
Earlier this week, Sens. Gillibrand and Jeanne Shaheen, who are both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote a letter to Panetta asking him to “extend as many benefits as possible to LGBT members’ families.”
“Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was a critical step to ensuring our military retains all the best and brightest and does not discriminate against any Americans,” the senators write. “But, the lack of equal benefits undermines those service members whose families are denied the programs offered for military families.”
Hagel’s questionnaire responses build off a commitment he expressed earlier in a Jan. 14 letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer in which he said he supports “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and would “do everything possible to the extent permissible under current law to provide equal benefits to the families of all our service members.”
After the hearing, OutServe-SLDN’s Robinson expressed disappointment in a statement that the issue of non-discrimination for LGBT service members wasn’t addressed. Gay service members currently have no recourse outside of their chain of command for claims of discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation.
“It’s time for our nation’s military leaders to send a clear message that relegating LGBT service members to second-class status is no longer acceptable,” Robinson said. “If Sen. Hagel is confirmed, he must use his authority to ban discrimination and guarantee equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members of the military.”
The Hagel nomination has been controversial within the LGBT community because of his poor voting record on LGBT issues while a U.S. senator from Nebraska and because he called then-ambassadorial nominee James Hormel in 1998 “openly aggressively gay.” Hagel has since apologized for the anti-gay remarks and the former ambassador supports his confirmation.
UPDATE: This posting has been edited for clarity and updated with additional comments from Hagel and senators.
National
Medical groups file lawsuit over Trump deletion of health information
Crucial datasets included LGBTQ, HIV resources
Nine private medical and public health advocacy organizations, including two from D.C., filed a lawsuit on May 20 in federal court in Seattle challenging what it calls the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s illegal deletion of dozens or more of its webpages containing health related information, including HIV information.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, names as defendants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS itself, and several agencies operating under HHS and its directors, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration.
“This action challenges the widespread deletion of public health resources from federal agencies,” the lawsuit states. “Dozens (if not more) of taxpayer-funded webpages, databases, and other crucial resources have vanished since January 20, 2025, leaving doctors, nurses, researchers, and the public scrambling for information,” it says.
“These actions have undermined the longstanding, congressionally mandated regime; irreparably harmed Plaintiffs and others who rely on these federal resources; and put the nation’s public health infrastructure in unnecessary jeopardy,” the lawsuit continues.
It adds, “The removal of public health resources was apparently prompted by two recent executive orders – one focused on ‘gender ideology’ and the other targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’) programs. Defendants implemented these executive orders in a haphazard manner that resulted in the deletion (inadvertent or otherwise) of health-related websites and databases, including information related to pregnancy risks, public health datasets, information about opioid-use disorder, and many other valuable resources.”
The lawsuit does not mention that it was President Donald Trump who issued the two executive orders in question.
A White House spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
While not mentioning Trump by name, the lawsuit names as defendants in addition to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Matthew Buzzelli, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health; Martin Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Thomas Engels, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration; and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.
The 44-page lawsuit complaint includes an addendum with a chart showing the titles or descriptions of 49 “affected resource” website pages that it says were deleted because of the executive orders. The chart shows that just four of the sites were restored after initially being deleted.
Of the 49 sites, 15 addressed LGBTQ-related health issues and six others addressed HIV issues, according to the chart.
“The unannounced and unprecedented deletion of these federal webpages and datasets came as a shock to the medical and scientific communities, which had come to rely on them to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, assist physicians and other clinicians in daily care, and inform the public about a wide range of healthcare issues,” the lawsuit states.
“Health professionals, nonprofit organizations, and state and local authorities used the websites and datasets daily in care for their patients, to provide resources to their communities, and promote public health,” it says.
Jose Zuniga, president and CEO of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), one of the organizations that signed on as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the deleted information from the HHS websites “includes essential information about LGBTQ+ health, gender and reproductive rights, clinical trial data, Mpox and other vaccine guidance and HIV prevention resources.”
Zuniga added, “IAPAC champions evidence-based, data-informed HIV responses and we reject ideologically driven efforts that undermine public health and erase marginalized communities.”
Lisa Amore, a spokesperson for Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s largest LGBTQ supportive health services provider, also expressed concern about the potential impact of the HHS website deletions.
“As the region’s leader in HIV care and prevention, Whitman-Walker Health relies on scientific data to help us drive our resources and measure our successes,” Amore said in response to a request for comment from the Washington Blade.
“The District of Columbia has made great strides in the fight against HIV,” Amore said. “But the removal of public facing information from the HHS website makes our collective work much harder and will set HIV care and prevention backward,” she said.
The lawsuit calls on the court to issue a declaratory judgement that the “deletion of public health webpages and resources is unlawful and invalid” and to issue a preliminary or permanent injunction ordering government officials named as defendants in the lawsuit “to restore the public health webpages and resources that have been deleted and to maintain their web domains in accordance with their statutory duties.”
It also calls on the court to require defendant government officials to “file a status report with the Court within twenty-four hours of entry of a preliminary injunction, and at regular intervals, thereafter, confirming compliance with these orders.”
The health organizations that joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs include the Washington State Medical Association, Washington State Nurses Association, Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Academy Health, Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Fast-Track Cities Institute, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, National LGBT Cancer Network, and Vermont Medical Society.
The Fast-Track Cities Institute and International Association of Providers of AIDS Care are based in D.C.
U.S. Federal Courts
Federal judge scraps trans-inclusive workplace discrimination protections
Ruling appears to contradict US Supreme Court precedent
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has struck down guidelines by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission designed to protect against workplace harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
The EEOC in April 2024 updated its guidelines to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which determined that discrimination against transgender people constituted sex-based discrimination as proscribed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
To ensure compliance with the law, the agency recommended that employers honor their employees’ preferred pronouns while granting them access to bathrooms and allowing them to wear dress code-compliant clothing that aligns with their gender identities.
While the the guidelines are not legally binding, Kacsmaryk ruled that their issuance created “mandatory standards” exceeding the EEOC’s statutory authority that were “inconsistent with the text, history, and tradition of Title VII and recent Supreme Court precedent.”
“Title VII does not require employers or courts to blind themselves to the biological differences between men and women,” he wrote in the opinion.
The case, which was brought by the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation, presents the greatest setback for LGBTQ inclusive workplace protections since President Donald Trump’s issuance of an executive order on the first day of his second term directing U.S. federal agencies to recognize only two genders as determined by birth sex.
Last month, top Democrats from both chambers of Congress reintroduced the Equality Act, which would codify LGBTQ-inclusive protections against discrimination into federal law, covering employment as well as areas like housing and jury service.
The White House
Trump travels to Middle East countries with death penalty for homosexuality
President traveled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates
Homosexuality remains punishable by death in two of the three Middle East countries that President Donald Trump visited last week.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are among the handful of countries in which anyone found guilty of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual relations could face the death penalty.
Trump was in Saudi Arabia from May 13-14. He traveled to Qatar on May 14.
“The law prohibited consensual same-sex sexual conduct between men but did not explicitly prohibit same-sex sexual relations between women,” notes the State Department’s 2023 human rights report, referring specifically to Qatar’s criminalization law. “The law was not systematically enforced. A man convicted of having consensual same-sex sexual relations could receive a sentence of seven years in prison. Under sharia, homosexuality was punishable by death; there were no reports of executions for this reason.”
Trump on May 15 arrived in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The State Department’s 2023 human rights report notes the “penalty for individuals who engaged in ‘consensual sodomy with a man'” in the country “was a minimum prison sentence of six months if the individual’s partner or guardian filed a complaint.”
“There were no known reports of arrests or prosecutions for consensual same-sex sexual conduct. LGBTQI+ identity, real or perceived, could be deemed an act against ‘decency or public morality,’ but there were no reports during the year of persons prosecuted under these provisions,” reads the report.
The report notes Emirati law also criminalizes “men who dressed as women or entered a place designated for women while ‘disguised’ as a woman.” Anyone found guilty could face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 dirhams ($2,722.60.)
Trump returned to the U.S. on May 16.
The White House notes Trump during the trip secured more than $2 trillion “in investment agreements with Middle Eastern nations ($200 billion with the United Arab Emirates, $600 billion with Saudi Arabia, and $1.2 trillion with Qatar) for a more safe and prosperous future.”
Former President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia in 2022.
Saudi Arabia is scheduled to host the 2034 World Cup. The 2022 World Cup took place in Qatar.
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