News
House to vote on amendment to defund Trump trans military ban
Speier amendment to come up as part of defense appropriations bill


Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), on left, and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), second from right, join transgender service members in the Capitol Rotunda before the State of the Union Address on Feb. 5, 2019. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The House Rules Committee this week approved for debate as part of defense appropriations legislation an amendment introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) that would bar the use of funds to implement the anti-trans policy.
Joining Speier in introducing the amendment were Reps. Joseph Kennedy III (D-Mass.), Susan Davis (D-Calif.), Anthony Brown (D-Md.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.).
Aaron Belkin, director of the San Francisco-based Palm Center, hailed House leadership in a statement for committing to a vote to defund the transgender military ban.
“Rep. Speier’s amendment would prevent the military from implementing this discriminatory ban and wasting taxpayer money firing and replacing fully qualified transgender troops,” Belkin said. “Research indicates that it costs far more money to fire and replace a service member than to provide medically necessary health care. The Defense Department spent only $3 million per year providing health care to transgender personnel before President Trump reinstated the ban, a figure military leadership has called mere ‘budget dust.'”
The amendment is set to come up for a vote either Tuesday or possibly Wednesday, a Democratic leadership aide said.
The Speier amendment is one of several that will obtain a vote as part of the defense appropriations bill. Each of the amendments gets 10 minutes of debate. If a recorded vote is requested on an amendment, the House have a vote on it. The House typically vote on these amendments in blocks.
Speier had previously told the Washington Blade she was considering an amendment against the transgender ban as part of the defense authorization bill, which is separate legislation currently being considered in committee. A Speier aide said she doesn’t see the two vehicles as mutually exclusive and also expects a floor amendment on the defense authorization bill.
The House has already took a symbolic stand against the transgender military ban by passing in March a non-binding resolution. The measure, introduced by Kennedy, condemned the ban and the Pentagon report justifying Trump’s it as discriminatory and based on junk science.
The Vatican
Executive director of LGBTQ Catholic group to travel to Rome for conclave
Marianne Duddy-Burke met Pope Francis in 2023

The executive director of a group that represents LGBTQ Catholics will travel to Rome next week for the papal conclave that starts on May 7.
DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke on Thursday told the Washington Blade she will arrive in Rome on May 6. Duddy-Burke said she plans to spend time in St. Peter’s Square “and have conversations with people.”
“I will wear Dignity insignia, have rainbow flags,” she said.
Pope Francis died on April 21. His funeral took place five days later.
The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.
Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial on April 26.
Duddy-Burke and two others from the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics met with Francis in October 2023 during a meeting that focused on the Catholic Church’s future. Duddy-Burke noted Francis “invited” her and her colleagues as his “special guests for the audience and then had a conversation with him afterwards.”
“For me the sort of visibility that he (Francis) brought to our community and to our concerns feels irreversible,” said Duddy-Burke. “He empowered so many people and so many new ministries.”
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu — the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo who has described homosexuality as an “abomination” — is among the cardinals who are reportedly in the running to succeed Francis.
“I really don’t know,” said Duddy-Burke when the Blade asked her who the next pope will be. “Of course, I am hoping and praying hard that it will be someone who will continue to lead the church on responsiveness of human need and greater inclusivity.”
“What happens in that room is such a mystery,” she added.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
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