News
Harris, Carper seek answers on LGBT omission from 2020 Census
Trump accused of erasing LGBT people from decennial survey


Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) seek answers on the omission of LGBT questions from the U.S.
Census. (Photos public domain)
A pair of Democrats — U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) — are seeking answers from the U.S. Census Bureau on the omission of questions from major 2020 federal surveys on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In a letter dated May 22, the senators call on outgoing U.S. Census Bureau director John Thompson to explain the decision to exclude questions from a report outlining to Congress the templates for the 2020 U.S. Census and American Community Survey.
“As you have stated in the past, complete Census data is critical ‘to meet a wide range of federal needs—from providing apportionment and redistricting data as part of our representative democracy, to helping distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds annually,’” the senators write. “This is why it is critical that the Census Bureau’s process to include subjects to fairly and accurately count all Americans is impartial and free from undue interference.”
In March, the Census Bureau at first included in a report detailing 2020 Census plans an appendix note that questions allowing responders to identify their sexual orientation and gender identity were being considered. However, the agency immediately retracted that report and removed the note in a subsequent version of report, which seemed to indicate a final decision on LGBT questions wouldn’t be included in the federal surveys. LGBT groups responded that the Trump administration had “erased” LGBT people.
At the time, Thompson said in a blog post the omission was the result of “no federal data need” to include the questions, citing “a clear statutory or regulatory need for data collection.”
Detailing the multi-year process by which decisions on questions were made, Thompson wrote the initial plan for the surveys was set forth in an initial 2015 report. Although he acknowledged in 2016 members of Congress sought to include LGBT questions, it wasn’t clear whether the decision to omit them came during the Obama or Trump administrations.
According to Harris and Carper, the Obama administration “had considered adding SOGI as a subject to the 2020 Census and ACS” as result of U.S. agencies making the request, but the federal government changed course when President Trump came into office.
“On March 7, 2017…DOJ sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce rescinding its request to include SOGI,” the senators write. “Specifically, DOJ stated that ‘it was unable to reaffirm its request of November 4, 2016.’ As a result, the Census Bureau halted its evaluation of whether SOGI should be included in the 2020 Census and ACS, despite DOJ’s previously clearly articulated need in November. These communications raise concerns about the role of the DOJ and its influence on government data collection.”
The letter seeks — by a June 19 deadline — information on 1) All communications related to the addition of SOGI as a new subject to the 2020 Census and the American Community Survey; 2) An explanation of the Census Bureau’s process to accept and review requests from federal agencies for survey questions; 3) An explanation of the Census Bureau’s process to accept and review requests from Congress; and 4) An explanation of the Census Bureau’s threshold for subject inclusion in the surveys.
The Washington Blade has placed a request seeking comment with the U.S. Census Bureau on the senators’ letter.
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.