President Trump’s anti-LGBTQ agenda dominated national news in 2025, particularly his cruel attacks on trans Americans. Here are our picks for the top 10 LGBTQ news stories the Blade covered in 2025.

10. Trump grants clemency to George Santos

President Donald Trump granted clemency to disgraced former Long Island Rep. George Santos. Santos was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and had served just 84 days of his more than seven-year sentence. He lied to both the DOJ and the House Ethics Committee, including about his work and education history, and committed campaign finance fraud.

9. U.S. Olympics bans trans women athletes  

The United States Supreme Court decided in 2025 to take up two cases — Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J.— both of which concern the rights of transgender athletes to participate on sports teams. The cases challenge state laws under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which prevents states from offering separate boys’ and girls’ sports teams based on biological sex determined at birth. Both cases are set to be heard in January 2026. The developments follow a decision by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee to change eligibility rules to prohibit transgender women from competing in women’s sporting events on behalf of the United States, following Trump’s Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

8. FDA approves new twice-yearly HIV prevention drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on June 18 approved a newly developed HIV/AIDS prevention drug that needs to be taken only twice a year, with one injection every six months. The new drug, lenacapavir, is being sold under the brand name Yeztugo by pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences. According to trial data, 99.9 percent of participants who received Yeztugo remained HIV negative. This emerging technology comes amid direct cuts to HIV/AIDS research measures by the Trump–Vance administration, particularly targeting international HIV efforts such as PEPFAR. 

7. LGBTQ people ‘erased’ from gov’t reports

Politico reported in March that the Trump–Vance administration is slashing the State Department’s annual human rights report, cutting sections related to the rights of women, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, and more. Members of Congress objected to the removal of the subsection on “Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC)” from the State Department’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

In a Sept. 9 letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), and Sarah McBride (D-Del.) urged the department to restore the information or ensure it is integrated throughout each report, noting that the reports serve as key evidence for asylum seekers, attorneys, judges, and advocates assessing human rights conditions and protection claims worldwide.

6. Trump admin redefines ‘sex’ in all HHS programs

The Trump administration canceled more than $800 million in research into the health of sexual and gender minority groups. More than half of the National Institutes of Health grants scrapped through early May involved studies of cancers and viruses that disproportionately affect LGBTQ people.

The administration is also pushing to end gender-affirming care for transgender youth, according to a new proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services, NPR reported. The administration is considering blocking all Medicaid and Medicare funding for services at hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care. “These rules would be a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s attack on access to transgender health care,” said Katie Keith, director of the Center for Health Policy and Law at Georgetown University.

5. FBI plans to label trans people as ‘violent extremists’

The Human Rights Campaign, Transgender Law Center, Equality Federation, GLAAD, PFLAG, and the Southern Poverty Law Center condemned reports that the FBI, in coordination with the Heritage Foundation, may be working to designate transgender people as “violent extremists.” The concerns followed a report earlier this month by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, who cited two anonymous national security officials saying the FBI is considering treating transgender subjects as a subset of a new threat category.

That classification—originally created under the Biden administration as “Anti-Authority and Anti-Government Violent Extremists” (AGAAVE) — was first applied to Jan. 6 rioters and other right-wing extremists. Advocates said the proposal appears to stem from the false claim that the assassination of Charlie Kirk was committed by a transgender person.

4. Pentagon targets LGBTQ service members

Acting in agreement with the growing anti-LGBTQ sentiment from the Trump administration, during a televised speech to U.S. military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in late September, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denounced past military leadership for being too “woke,” citing DEI initiatives and LGBTQ inclusion within the Department of Defense. During the 45-minute address, Hegseth criticized inclusive policies and announced forthcoming directives, saying they would ensure combat requirements “return to the highest male standard only.”

Since 2016, a Navy replenishment oiler had borne the name of gay rights icon Harvey Milk, who served in the Navy during the Korean War and was separated from service under other than honorable conditions due to his sexuality before later becoming one of the first openly LGBTQ candidates elected to public office. In June 2025, the ship was renamed USNS Oscar V. Peterson.

The U.S. Air Force also announced that transgender service members who have served between 15 and 18 years would be denied early retirement and instead separated from the military without benefits. Transgender troops will be given the option of accepting a lump-sum payout offered to junior service members or being removed from service.

In February, the Pentagon said it would draft and submit procedures to identify transgender service members and begin discharging them from the military within 30 days.

3. Trump blames Democrats, trans people for gov’t shutdown

Republicans failed to reach an agreement with Democrats and blamed them for the government shutdown, while Democrats pointed to Republicans for cutting health care tax credits, a move they said would result in millions of people paying significantly higher monthly insurance premiums next year. In the White House press briefing room, a video of Democrats discussing past government shutdowns played on a loop as the president continued to blame the Democratic Party and “woke” issues, including transgender people.

“A lot of good can come from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things. They’d be Democrat things,” Trump said the night before the shutdown. “They want open borders. Men playing in women’s sports. They want transgender for everybody.”

2. Supreme Court joins attacks on LGBTQ Americans

The U.S. Supreme Court issued multiple rulings this year affecting LGBTQ people. In Mahmoud v. Taylor (6–3), it ruled that public schools must give parents advance notice and the option to opt children out of lessons on gender or sexuality that conflict with their religious beliefs. The case arose after Montgomery County, Md., schools added LGBTQ-inclusive storybooks to the elementary curriculum.

In June, the court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, protecting similar laws in more than 20 states. Lawmakers and advocates criticized the ruling, and a coalition of seven medical associations warned it strips families of the right to direct their own health care.

The Court also allowed the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender military personnel and to implement a policy blocking passports with “X” gender markers, with the federal government recognizing only male and female designations.

1. Trump inaugurated for second time

President Donald Trump became the 47th president after winning Wisconsin, securing 277 of the 270 electoral votes needed. His guidebook, Project 2025, outlined the Republican Party’s goals under his new leadership, with a particular focus on opposing transgender rights.

Trump nominated openly gay hedge fund executive Scott Bessent as U.S. Treasury Secretary, a role he eventually assumed. Bessent became the highest-ranking openly gay U.S. government official in American history.

Honorable mention: The war on rainbow crosswalks escalates around the country

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ordered state transportation officials to remove a rainbow-colored crosswalk in Orlando next to the Pulse gay nightclub, where 49 mostly LGBTQ people were killed in a 2016 mass shooting. The move follows a July 1, 2025, announcement by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that, with support from President Trump, the department adopted a “nationwide roadway safety initiative” that political observers say could be used to require cities and states to remove rainbow street crosswalks.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday signed a bill that will ban so-called LGBTQ propaganda in the country.

Members of Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament last month unanimously approved the measure that would ban “‘LGBT propaganda’ online or in the media” with “fines for violators and up to 10 days in jail for repeat offenders.” The Kazakh Senate on Dec. 18 approved the bill.

Kazakhstan is a predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic in Central Asia that borders Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China. Russia, Georgia, and Hungary are among the other countries with anti-LGBTQ propaganda laws.

The year 2025 brought unprecedented challenges to D.C. as President Trump initiated a takeover of local police operations and implemented ICE raids in the city. Below are our picks for the top 10 LGBTQ news stories of the year.

10. Man gets 15 years for drug sale that led to deaths of two gay men

A D.C. man was sentenced by a federal judge on June 26, 2025, to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty three months earlier to conspiracy related charges that he distributed large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine in the D.C. area, including the sale of fentanyl that resulted in the December 2023 deaths of two D.C. gay men.

A statement released by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. said Jevaughn Mark, 33, was charged, among other things, with selling fentanyl rather than the requested ketamine, known as “Special K,” to one of the two gay victims who shared the drug with his gay friend. Police identified the men as Brandon Roman, 38, a prominent D.C. attorney and LGBTQ rights  advocate, and Robbie Barletta, 28, a home renovation business owner and historic preservationist.

An official with the D.C.-based group HIPS, which provides services to drug users, called the deaths of the two men a poisoning rather than an overdose because they unknowingly consumed the highly toxic fentanyl rather than the ketamine they thought they had.

9. Drag queens, protesters denounce Trump’s Kennedy Center takeover

D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot was among other drag queens and about 100 supporters who marched in February from Washington Circle to the Kennedy Center to protest President Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center “takeover” by his appointment of Trump supporters to the performing arts facility’s board of directors.

Hoot and three other local drag performers followed up with their own Kennedy Center protest in June by attending the Kennedy Center’s opening night performance of “Les Misérables” while Trump himself was in attendance. Among the concerns raised by the protesters was the Kennedy Center’s decision in February to cancel a performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington scheduled for May to celebrate the upcoming WorldPride 2025 DC events.  A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the performance was canceled because of “financial” and “scheduling” factors and not by the Trump initiated management changes.

8. D.C. LGBTQ Center celebrates opening of new, larger offices

The D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center officially opened its new expanded offices on April 26 at 1828 Wiltberger St., N.W., located one block from the Shaw Metro station.  

Spanning 6,671 square feet of intentionally designed space, Center Director Kimberley Bush said the new space would offer a wide range of resources for LGBTQ individuals in need – including mental health services, job readiness programs, cultural events and community support groups, all under one roof.

7. Deaths of five key local LGBTQ advocates in 2025

The LGBTQ community took note of the passing of at least five highly regarded local LGBTQ advocates in 2025. Among them were Jeri Hughes, 73, a longtime local transgender rights activist; Dale Sanders, 75, a highly acclaimed D.C. attorney for more than 40 years who played a leading role in providing legal services to people with HIV/AIDS; Patrick Shaw, 60, a highly regarded D.C. public schools teacher; Thomas Mangrum, 61, an acclaimed advocate for people with disabilities and LGBTQ rights activist involved in the city’s Capital Pride events; and Loraine Hutchins, a nationally known and acclaimed advocate for bisexual and LGBTQ rights, and co-author and editor of a groundbreaking book on bisexuality.

6. Pro-LGBTQ Spanberger elected Va. governor 

Former congresswoman and longtime LGBTQ rights supporter Abigail Spanberger (D) won her race for governor of Virginia on Nov. 6, defeating the state’s Republican lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, who expressed strong opposition to LGBTQ equality. Spanberger, who will succeed incumbent GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin in January, becomes Virginia’s first female governor.

Meanwhile, John Reid, a gay conservative radio talk show host in Richmond for many years, lost his race as the Republican candidate for  lieutenant governor in Virginia, falling short of becoming the state’s first openly gay person to win a statewide office. Reid lost to Democrat Ghazala Hashmi, a member of the Virginia State Senate, who became the first Muslim woman to win election to a statewide office in any state.

 5. Trans erasure hits D.C. 

The National Park Service, which owns and maintains Dupont Circle as a federal park, in February removed all references to transgender people from its website devoted to Dupont Circle history. In a development believed to be linked to one of President Trump’s early executive orders banning federal support for trans related issues, the Park Service removed all mention of trans people from its website but left on the site multiple references to the “GLB community.”

In yet another act of what LGBTQ activists are calling “trans erasure,” D.C.’s Children’s National Hospital in July announced it would discontinue beginning Aug. 30 gender transition medical care it has provided for juvenile patients for at least the past 20 years. In a statement posted on its website, the highly acclaimed pediatric hospital said the change was made “in light of escalating legal and regulatory risks to Children’s National.” Most observers interpreted that to mean the risk of federal funding cuts linked to the Trump administration’s animus toward trans supportive programs or policies.

4. D.C. Mayor Bowser announces she will not run for re-election

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a longtime vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community, announced on Nov. 25 that she will not run for a fourth term. Since first taking office as mayor in January 2015, Bowser has been an outspoken supporter on a wide range of LGBTQ-related issues, including marriage equality and services for LGBTQ youth and seniors.

LGBTQ activists have pointed out that Bowser’s record of support on LGBTQ issues dates back to her tenure as the Ward 4 D.C. Council member from 2007 through January 2015, when she took office as mayor. They also credit her with expanding and significantly increasing funding for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and appointing the largest number of openly LGBTQ officials to D.C. government jobs than any prior D.C. mayor.

“It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor,” Bowser said in a statement.

3. D.C. LGBTQ bars ‘hanging in there’ amid tough economy

The owners of several of D.C.’s at least 25 LGBTQ bars told the Blade in November they had been negatively impacted by a series of developments and issues impacting most other D.C. bars, restaurants, and nightlife venues. Among the lead issues impacting them, they said, were the deployment by President Trump of National Guard troops on city streets, the nearly two-month-long federal government shutdown that ended in late November, and skyrocketing prices of food and other supplies brought about by the Trump administration’s tariff program.

Other factors cited were a decline in tourist visits to D.C. due to alienation from the Trump administration and a large increase in the number of LGBTQ bars in recent years that some observers said has resulted in fewer people going to each of the LGBTQ bars, the latest one, Rush at 14^th and U Street, N.W., having opened in December.

2. At least 1.2 million turn out for WorldPride D.C.

At least 1.2 million people turned out from throughout the U.S. and internationally for WorldPride D.C. 2025, which took place from mid-May through June. It included hundreds of events held across the city. Among them were an international human rights conference, a March on Washington for LGBTQ Equality, sporting events with LGBTQ athletes, concerts by LGBTQ choral groups and nationally acclaimed pop musicians.

The events culminated with a six-hour-long WorldPride Parade on June 7 that drew hundreds of thousands of participants and bystanders and included a 1,000-foot long rainbow flag that led the parade. The WorldPride street festival and concert took place that same day and the following day, on June 8, along Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. that included hundreds of booths.

The 1.2 million attendance and the a $310 million economic impact it had on the city were significantly less that what had been initially predicted by city officials, who, along with LGBTQ activists, said the lower attendance and economic impact was due in part to the anti-LGBTQ policies and alienation of many potential foreign visitors by the Trump administration.

1.    Trump takes control of D.C. police, deploys National Guard 

LGBTQ rights advocates joined community leaders across the city in condemning President Donald Trump’s decision in August to take control of the D.C Metropolitan Police Department and deploy 800 National Guard troops to address what he called a crime wave caused by “bloodthirsty criminals” and “roving mobs of wild youth.” 

A coalition of local LGBTQ advocacy organizations joined other community leaders, including gay D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), in calling Trump’s action a “power grab” aimed at eliminating D.C.’s locally elected government that would adversely impact people of color, the LGBTQ and immigrant communities.

In a development that captured national attention, a gay man was arrested on Aug. 10 on a misdemeanor assault charge for tossing a hero sandwich into the chest of a uniformed U.S. Customs and Border Control agent on a street near several gay bars in what he called an act of  protest and defiance of the Trump deployment of federal troops and agents in D.C. In what some observers called a gesture of support for gay sandwich thrower Sean Charles Dunn, a federal court jury handed down a verdict of not guilty for the assault charge.