Congress
Former Republican members of Congress call for Equality Act passage
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen spearheaded letter

In a letter addressed Tuesday to party leaders on Capitol Hill, 11 former Republican members of Congress urged federal lawmakers to pass anti-discrimination legislation to protect members of the LGBTQ community.
Former U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), Claudine Schneider (R-R.I.), Bob Dold (R-Ill.), Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.), Chris Shays (R-Conn.) and Steve Gunderson (R-Wis.) all signed the letter.
“The status quo is not working for LGBTQ Americans nor is it emblematic of our country’s founding values of freedom, fairness, and equality,” the signatories wrote in the letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Ros-Lehtinen told the Washington Blade that supporting and urging the passage of nondiscrimination legislation was “the right action to take.”
“That is why I am so proud to have spearheaded this letter, signed by 10 other former Republican members of Congress, encouraging lawmakers to pass this bill so that discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community will be a thing of the past,” Ros-Lehtinen said.
The Equality Act has been introduced in Congress multiple times dating back to the 1970s. Its latest iteration was introduced by U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) in early 2021 and was later passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Equality is a founding principle of our country, and everyone knows discrimination is wrong,” Cicilline told the Blade. “I introduced the Equality Act to guarantee that every LGBTQ+ American would be protected from discrimination in all aspects of our lives. With so much anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being proposed and even passed in some state legislatures across the country, we must pass the Equality Act to end discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community once and for all.”
The current form of the legislation would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in a number of different areas including public accommodations, employment, housing and education. The bill has now awaited a vote in the U.S. Senate for nearly 16 months, where many see it as unlikely that the bill would be able to garner the 60 votes needed to withstand a potential filibuster and subsequent failure to move forward for President Biden to sign.
In lieu of federal legislation, the president has taken alternative, executive steps to codify LGBTQ protections into areas under his jurisdiction. On Wednesday, President Biden held an event at the White House where he signed an executive order aimed at combatting discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
“As President Biden said during his first joint address to Congress, the president has the back of LGBTQI+ people across the country,” the White House said in a statement marking the signing that took place during a Pride Month event. “That is why he [is] taking these bold actions and continuing to fight for full equality for every American — including urging Congress pass the Equality Act and provide overdue civil rights projections for LGBTQI+ people.”
The president’s executive order took aim at the continued practice of so-called conversion therapy and hundreds of discriminatory state laws passed in the last year. The order tasked entities under his command, such as the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Education, with combatting such legislation and harmful practices.
LGBTQ nondiscrimination advocates have similarly been able to make strides in certain areas in recent years without the Equality Act.
The landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County in 2020 ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity was illegal in employment under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. However, multiple states still permit such discrimination in areas outside of employment.
Ros-Lehtinen described how she believes passing comprehensive nondiscrimination legislation would make fairness and equity in all states a reality.
“The sad truth is that in our wonderful nation, it is still permissible to discriminate against individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “We need federal protections and not a patchwork of state laws that may or may not grant protection from this unfair discrimination. I urge the U.S. Senate to pass the Equality Act which will grant this protection.”
But despite the current wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation in numerous states, largely sponsored by members of her party, Ros-Lehtinen expressed continued optimism that a greater share of her party would soon support efforts to make nationwide LGBTQ protections omnipresent.
“I remain hopeful that members of my Republican Party will move away from extremist views and walk toward the light of acceptance and inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “They are our family members, our neighbors, our work colleagues.”
And, as signaled by the language of the letter submitted to congressional leaders, her fellow signatories agree.
“Bipartisan leadership on this issue is possible,” the former congresspeople wrote. “Americans from all walks of life — across political party, demographics, and geography — support protections and are ready for Congress to act. The current Congress has momentum and the go-ahead from the public to outlaw LGBTQ discrimination once and for all.”
Michael K. Lavers contributed to this story.
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.
Congress
Gerry Connolly dies at 75 after battle with esophageal cancer
Va. congressman fought for LGBTQ rights

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia died on Wednesday, according to a statement from his family.
The 75-year-old lawmaker, who served in Congress since 2009, announced last month that he will not seek reelection and would step down from his role as the top Democrat on the powerful U.S. House Oversight Committee because his esophageal cancer had returned.
“We were fortunate to share Gerry with Northern Virginia for nearly 40 years because that was his joy, his purpose, and his passion,” his family said in their statement. “His absence will leave a hole in our hearts, but we are proud that his life’s work will endure for future generations.”
“He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless. He always stood up for what is right and just,” they said.
Connolly was memorialized in statements from colleagues and friends including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.), former President Joe Biden, and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
Several highlighted Connolly’s fierce advocacy on behalf of federal workers, who are well represented in his northern Virginia congressional district.
The congressman also supported LGBTQ rights throughout his life and career.
When running for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 1994, he fought the removal of Washington Blade newspapers from libraries. When running in 2008 for the U.S. house seat vacated by Tom Davis, a Republican, Connolly campaigned against the amendment to Virginia’s constitution banning same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state.
In Congress, he supported the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality, the Biden-Harris administration’s rescission of the anti-trans military ban, and the designation within the State Department of a special LGBTQ rights envoy. The congressman also was an original cosponsor of the Equality Act and co-sponsored legislation to repeal parts of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Congress
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill to criminalize gender affirming care advances
Judiciary Committee markup slated for Wednesday morning

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)’s “Protect Children’s Innocence Act,” which would criminalize guideline-directed gender affirming health care for minors, will advance to markup in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning.
Doctors and providers who administer medical treatments for gender dysphoria to patients younger than 18, including hormones and puberty blockers, would be subject to Class 3 felony charges punishable by up to 10 years in prison if the legislation is enacted.
LGBTQ advocates warn conservative lawmakers want to go after families who travel out of state to obtain medical care for their transgender kids that is banned or restricted in the places where they reside, using legislation like Greene’s to expand federal jurisdiction over these decisions. They also point to the medically inaccurate way in which the bill characterizes evidence-based interventions delineated in standards of care for trans and gender diverse youth as “mutilation” or “chemical castration.”
Days into his second term, President Donald Trump signed “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” an executive order declaring that the U.S. would not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit” medical treatments and interventions intended for this purpose.
Greene, who has introduced the bill in years past, noted the president’s endorsement of her bill during his address to the joint session of Congress in March when he said “I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body.”