Connect with us

Congress

Victory Institute urges Senate to confirm key LGBTQ Biden nominees

Letter addressed to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

Published

4 years ago

on

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The LGBTQ Victory Institute will issue a letter on Friday urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to move for a vote on 11 LGBTQ nominees for key posts in the Biden administration, the group told the Washington Blade.

The letter notes that several of these appointments have languished before the Senate and its committees for more than 100 days since they were first announced by the White House, underscoring the urgency for lawmakers to take action in the waning days before the new Congress is seated in January.

Victory Institute Senior Manager for Presidential Appointments Jonathan Dromgoole told the Blade that the group will continue advocating on behalf of the candidates if Congress fails to approve them by the year’s end — in which case they must be re-nominated by President Joe Biden to begin the approvals process anew.

Dromgoole echoed the praise in the Victory Institute’s letter for the strides that Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and pro-LGBTQ legislators in the Senate have made to nominate and approve a record number of LGBTQ candidates to serve in the administration, as well as their success in passing the historic Respect for Marriage Act, which was signed into law this week.

At the same time, “we’re really urging Sen. Schumer — who has the power to do this, to bring these folks up to a vote — to take action, because they’ve truly been waiting long enough,” Dromgoole said.

Confirming these nominees is essential, not just for reasons of representation and the need to include LGBTQ people in policymaking, but also for Americans more broadly, Dromgoole said. Having qualified candidates seated and serving in these key government posts will benefit everyone, perhaps especially when those positions would otherwise remain vacant, he said.

The 11 LGBTQ nominees awaiting Senate confirmation includes six jurists who were picked to fill open judgeships in U.S. federal district courts, a candidate nominated for foreign ambassadorships, and individuals who were selected for key posts at the Departments of Energy and Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Federal Communications Commission.

If confirmed, Gigi Sohn, Biden’s pick for FCC commissioner, would provide the key votes necessary to pass rules and policies that have been held up for more than a year because of the agency’s bipartisan leadership structure, with voting commissioners from both parties serving under Democratic Chair Jessica Rosenworcel.

Sohn’s confirmation process has been embroiled in conflict, perhaps in large part because of Republican opposition to rules and policies that would pass with her tie-breaking votes.

Nevertheless, and especially with respect to the other 10 candidates, Dromgoole said partisan political disagreements should have nothing to do with the Senate’s deliberations. These nominees are qualified and ready to do the work, he said. “They are there to really look at the laws and interpret those laws in a nonpartisan way” on behalf of the American people.

More broadly, Dromgoole said, the 11 nominees “really do represent and give effect to the president’s mission, to make sure that the appointees look like America. And in this case, yes, we’re focused on LGBTQ individuals as part of the Victory Institute’s work. But a lot of these folks hold multiple identities that they’re able to bring into their jobs on day one.”

“And I think the timing is right with both President Biden and the pro LGBTQ mandate that the Senate has right now, to get these folks over the finish line in these last critical weeks. So, we’re hopeful and we’re going to continue to champion them and all of our appointees as we move forward.”

The Victory Institute’s Presidential Appointments Initiative was started during the Clinton White House, during which time Dromgoole said only about 30 LGBTQ people were working in the administration.

The group claims to have had a hand in 40 percent of the LGBTQ individuals who were selected and approved for key roles in the Biden-Harris administration — the most inclusive to-date, with 15 percent identifying as LGBTQ.

Related Topics:
Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Congress

HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH

Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

Published

2 days ago

on

August 31, 2026

By

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, left, campaigns with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign)

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.

Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.

Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.

A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.

The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.

Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.

Continue Reading

Congress

Chris Van Hollen says the Democratic Party needs change. Is he the one to lead it?

Senator is backing anti-establishment Democrats across the country

Published

1 week ago

on

August 26, 2026

By

By LEE O. SANDERLIN | The Democratic Party is having something of an identity crisis — losing to President Donald Trump twice in three elections will do that.

Should the party embrace anti-establishment figures who espouse progressive policy ideas like Medicare for all and rhetoric about unrigging the economy for the 1 percent? Or should Democrats try to appeal to moderates who want to return to semi-normalcy in a time of political upheaval?

Although he’s been in Congress since 2002, with key leadership roles throughout his tenure, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, 67, counts himself firmly in the anti-establishment camp.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Continue Reading

Congress

House blocks effort to codify transgender servicemember ban into law

Lawmakers approved two anti-trans NDAA amendments

Published

1 month ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

The Pentagon (Photo by icholakov/Bigstock)

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday rejected an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have codified a ban transgender servicemembers in the military.

The bipartisan vote was 212-217.

The NDAA is for the 2027 fiscal year and sets policies for the Defense Department programs and activities and the national security programs of the Department of Energy.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) proposed the amendment on July 21. It stated that all personnel are required to serve in accordance with their biological sex, citing military readiness and discipline.

Human Rights Campaign Senior Director of Government Affairs Jennifer Pike Bailey stated that she is grateful for the bipartisan vote that rejected President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “dangerous and discriminatory policy that has kicked brave transgender servicemembers out of the military and weakened our national security.”

“Everyone who meets the same rigorous standards should be able to serve their country. We should honor that patriotism, particularly in this moment where we are witnessing brave servicemembers making the ultimate sacrifice for our country, instead of ending their careers and politicizing their existence. We’re grateful that a permanent extension of this ban failed, and we will keep fighting to reverse this senseless policy,” Bailey said.

Mark Takano, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, stated that he and his members put in countless hours of work to kill the amendment.

“When Americans know they or their families are going to be targeted by or not supported by the military, that leads them to avoid signing up to serve or staying in the service — making it harder to keep the ranks of the armed services full and our nation safe. My colleagues in the Equality Caucus and I will continue working to prevent these attacks on our servicemembers and their families from becoming law,” Takano said.

According to the Congressional Equality Caucus, two other bills could potentially be passed that would also target the transgender community, both of which were proposed by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

The first was a bill that would have prohibited gender-related medical care under TRICARE and to prevent TRICARE from covering certain gender-related medical procedures and treatments, which was approved in a vote of 219-208.

The second was a bill that would have prohibited male participation in female sports at DoDEA schools. DoDEA schools are Department of Defense Dependents Schools, which is a network of primary and secondary schools.

The amendment was approved in a vote of 221-203. 

Continue Reading

Popular