News
Kolbe wants Republican leaders to condemn Forbes
Gay former congressman says Forbes’ opposition to LGBT candidates is ‘outrageous’


Former congressman Jim Kolbe wants Republican leadership to condemn Rep. Forbes (Blade file photo by Michael Key).
A gay former Republican member of the U.S. House is calling on GOP leaders to condemn Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) in the wake of a recent report that he opposes party money going to gay congressional candidates.
Former congressman Jim Kolbe, who served in Congress from 1985 to 2007, told the Washington Blade via email that Forbes’ statements against candidates like Richard Tisei and Carl DeMaio are “outrageous” and merit a response from House leadership.
“They represent everything the party is trying to get away from,” Kolbe said. “Both candidates have very good chances of being elected. Forbes, apparently, would rather lose the two seats and further jeopardize our chances of holding the majority. I am pleased that Cong. Walden was quick to say the NRCC would support whoever was nominated, but I would like to see all of the leadership condemn such bigoted remarks as those made by Forbes.”
On Wednesday, Politico reported that Forbes, a Virginia Republican with a strong anti-LGBT record in Congress, has engaged in “a lengthy crusade” to convince the National Republican Congressional Committee it shouldn’t back gay candidates. The report prompted immediate criticism from gay Republican groups as well as congressional Democrats.
Asked during his news conference on Thursday whether he thinks Republican money should go toward gay Republican congressional candidates, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) replied simply, “I do.”
In response to Kolbe’s call for condemnation of Forbes, the only member of Republican leadership to respond immediately to the Blade’s request for comment was Boehner. Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesperson, said, “The Speaker addressed this issue yesterday. I have nothing to add.”
Although Kolbe and Forbes served together in the House Republican caucus between 2001 and 2007, Kolbe said the two didn’t have a strong relationship.
“I hardly knew Forbes,” Kolbe said. “I think we only served one term together. He seemed OK, but we were never socially close. Obviously, he knew I was gay so I guess wouldn’t have sought me out as a personal friend.”
Kolbe came out as gay in 1996 shortly after his vote in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act. Since he left Congress, he’s been active in LGBT activism.
The Arizona Republican was among the signers of a Republican friend-of-the-court brief against California’s Proposition 8 and testified before the Senate in favor of including a provision for bi-national same-sex couples as part of immigration reform. In May, Kolbe married his longtime partner, Hector Alfonso, in D.C.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony

The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)


























District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade

WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.

Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
Congress
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
‘Big Beautiful Bill’ now heads to the Senate

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted 215-214 for passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” reconciliation package, which includes provisions that would prohibit the use of federal funds to support gender-affirming care.
But for an 11th hour revision of the bill late Wednesday night by conservative lawmakers, Medicaid and CHIP would have been restricted only from covering treatments and interventions administered to patients younger than 18.
The legislation would also drop requirements that some health insurers must cover gender-affirming care as an “essential health benefit” and force states that currently mandate such coverage to find it independently. Plans could still offer coverage for transgender care but without the EHB classification patients will likely pay higher out of pocket costs.
To offset the cost of extending tax cuts from 2017 that disproportionately benefited the wealthiest Americans, the reconciliation bill contains significant cuts to spending for federal programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Human Rights Campaign criticized House Republicans in a press release and statement by the group’s president, Kelley Robinson:
“People in this country want policies and solutions that make life better and expand access to the American Dream. Instead, anti-equality lawmakers voted to give handouts to billionaires built on the backs of hardworking people — with devastating consequences for the LGBTQ+ community.
“If the cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP or resources like Planned Parenthood clinics weren’t devastating enough, House Republicans added a last minute provision that expands its attacks on access to best practice health care to transgender adults.
“This cruel addition shows their priorities have never been about lowering costs or expanding health care access–but in targeting people simply for who they are. These lawmakers have abandoned their constituents, and as they head back to their districts, know this: they will hear from us.”
Senate Republicans are expected to pass the bill with the budget reconciliation process, which would allow them to bypass the filibuster and clear the spending package with a simple majority vote.
Changes are expected as the bill will be reviewed and amended by committees, particularly the Finance Committee, and then brought to the floor for debate — though modifications are expected to focus on Medicaid reductions and debate over state and local tax deductions.