News
Kennedy, Morse come up short in Massachusetts primary bids
Ed Markey victory seen as win for left-wing of Democratic Party
In the aftermath of the Massachusetts primary, Rep. Joseph Kennedy III (D-Mass.), who has made a name as a crusader for the transgender community, came up short in his challenge against Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in a result seen as a victory for the left wing of the Democratic Party.
The Associated Press called the primary Tuesday night in favor of Markey at 10:29 ET. According to early results, Markey claimed 53.9 percent of the vote, compared to the 46.11 percent won by Kennedy, who’s chair of the Congressional Transgender Task Force.
Kennedy, thanking supporters, said he called Markey to concede, telling him he’s a “good man” and asserting “you have never heard me say otherwise,” according to the New York Times.
“No matter the results tonight, I would do this again with all of you in a heartbeat,” Kennedy was quoted as saying.
Markey, one of the orginators of the Green New Deal, had the backing of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as well as the Sunrise Movement, an American youth-led political movement that advocates political action on climate change.
The Human Rights Campaign, despite having worked with Kennedy on transgender issues and coordinating with him a congressional forum for the parents of transgender kids, also backed Markey. The nation’s leading LGBTQ groups cited Markey’s consistent support for LGBTQ rights, including a vote as a U.S. House member against the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, as a reason to support him.
In related news, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) chair of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee, fended off a challenge from Alex Morse, the mayor of Holyoke who had the backing of the Justice Democrats. Morse, who’s gay, was also endorsed by the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
According to early results, Neal had 59.5 percent of the vote, compared to the 40.6 percent claimed by Morse to represent Massachusetts’ 1st congressional district.
The primary got ugly when College Democrats of Massachusetts published a letter asserting he used “his position of power for romantic or sexual gain” as an instructor at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, by using dating apps to contact and match with students. Morse said he never had sex with anyone younger than 18 and he broke no rule as an instructor.
The letter, which his supporters criticized as a homophobic smear, cost him the endorsement of the Sunrise Movement, but the LGBTQ Victory Fund stood by him. Journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote that the allegations were “old homophobic tropes” and called the effort a “smear campaign.”
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.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
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