Congress
EXCLUSIVE: Adam Schiff discusses Senate run and new bill protecting trans youth
The Washington Blade spoke exclusively with the Calif. Democrat on Thursday

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) spoke with the Washington Blade by phone on Thursday about his run for the U.S. Senate, the Republican party’s crusade against transgender Americans and a new bill he plans to introduce that would protect vulnerable youth in schools.
Necessitated by Republican legislators’ invasion of students’ privacy to enforce anti-trans and anti-choice laws, Schiff and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) will introduce the Privacy in Education Regarding Individuals’ Own Data (PERIOD) Act.
Allies close to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have proposed tracking student athletes’ menstrual cycles, which Schiff characterized as “a not-at-all disguised effort to discriminate against trans students” that would be “incredibly invasive of students’ private medical data.”
“There may have been some of this data that was gathered in the past, but the particular focus on it right now, when the Republican party seems to be doing everything possible to make life difficult and dangerous for people in the trans community, is all too telling,” Schiff told the Blade.
The PERIOD Act, he said, is going to be vital for protecting young people’s medical information and “prohibiting this effort to target trans students.”
The bill aligns with other measures Schiff has introduced recently.
For instance, last year’s Equal Access to Reproductive Care Act would have updated the federal tax code such that all Americans regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity would be able to claim deductions for assisted reproductive treatments and surrogacy arrangements. And the PrEP Assistance Program Act, also introduced last year, would have made preexposure prophylactic regimens for the prevention of HIV infection more affordable and accessible for high-risk and underserved patients.
“It really requires a whole of government approach,” Schiff said.
“Congress needs to get rid of any statutory impediments to equal access to care, like the ones that exist in the tax code for LGBTQ families that want to have children. But also the Department of Justice has to enforce existing law and made sure people aren’t discriminated against. The Department of Health and Human Services needs to make sure that in the provision of care, people aren’t subject to discrimination. And [the agency needs] to work with hospitals and health clinics to make sure that they’re gathering the kind of data that’s needed to evaluate whether care is being provided on an equitable basis,” he said.
On the GOP’s ‘descent into division, bigotry, and hate’
Asked to gauge the prospects of passing the PERIOD Act in the Republican-controlled House, Schiff conceded “it’s going to be difficult” in this Congress, but getting members to go on the record with their positions on the bill will be important.
Also important, he said, is highlighting the need for the measure so that “when Democrats regain control of the House in two years, we can get [this] legislation passed.”
“We just saw Donald Trump issuing a video from Mar-a-Lago essentially pandering to people’s bigotry, and the fact that this is a presidential campaign platform attacking among the most vulnerable of all Americans, a community that already experiences hate and violence and high rates of suicide is absolutely shameful.”
Targeting one of the country’s most vulnerable communities is evidence of the Republican party’s “descent into division, bigotry, and hate,” Schiff said.
“It shows how low the GOP has descended that they believe their only path to power is by victimizing young people. And so it shouldn’t be, I guess, surprising. But it feels a shock. It’s still a shock,” Schiff said, adding that he is eager for a return to the days in which the GOP had “some conservative ideology, or frankly, any ideology” beyond “just being a party of hate.”
“Donald Trump is still the dominant voice in the Republican Party,” Schiff said. And “Trump isn’t wrong when he said that he was responsible for [DeSantis’] career,” but “he was also responsible for DeSantis imitating the worst aspects of the Trump presidency, [including] in their common demonization of members of the LGBTQ community.”
“We see just how pernicious Trump’s influence has been,” Schiff said. “So I think the danger to our rights or freedoms or democracy continues. And we’re going to be seeing more and more of it as the Republican primary gets underway.”
Running for the Senate
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a groundbreaking and venerated figure in Democratic politics, particularly in California, endorsed Schiff’s candidacy for the Senate on the condition that U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) decides not to seek reelection next year.
Schiff told the Blade he was “thrilled” to receive the endorsement.
“I don’t think there’s any person more well respected among the public, among Democrats in California, and among San Franciscans than Pelosi,” he said. “She’s an iconic figure.”
Schiff added that he is “greatly honored” that in addition to Pelosi, his Senate bid was endorsed by more than 20 current and former House colleagues from California.
“It’s reflective of their belief that I’m capable of getting things done on behalf of the people of California, and better than than anyone else,” he said.
Schiff will have at least one California Democratic opponent in his Senate campaign.
Congresswoman Katie Porter announced her candidacy last month, while Congresswoman Barbara Lee is also rumored to be considering running.
“We’re all rivals under the same flag,” Schiff told the Blade. “And so I think Californians will have a wealth of riches” among whom to choose.
“I’m campaigning to protect our democracy, to build an economy that works for everyone, and to save our planet,” Schiff said. “These, to me, are the three existential issues facing our state and our country. And in these consequential fights over the last decade, I’ve been very proud to [have been] at the center.”
Schiff noted his years of service as one of the vice chairs of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, adding, “we’d be very proud to have the support of the community in this campaign.”
Congress
Padilla forcibly removed from federal building for questioning DHS secretary
Prominent Democrats rushed to defend senator

Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed from a federal building in Los Angeles after attempting to ask questions of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference on immigration Thursday
The city has been rattled in recent days as protestors objecting to the Trump-Vance administration’s immigration crackdowns clashed with law enforcement and then the president deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines, which was seen as a dramatic escalation.
According to a video shared by his office, the senator, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, introduced himself and said, I have questions for the secretary.” After he was pushed out of the room, officers with FBI-identifying vests told Padilla to put his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.
“Senator Padilla is currently in Los Angeles exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California,” reads a statement from his office.
“He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem’s press conference,” the statement continued. “He tried to ask the secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents, forced to the ground and handcuffed. He is not currently detained, and we are working to get additional information.”
Democrats were furious, with many releasing strong statements online condemning the actions of law enforcement officers, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), and the state’s other U.S. senator, Adam Schiff (D).
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown also issued a statement: “A sitting U.S. senator should be allowed to ask a Cabinet secretary a question at a press conference — in his own state, on an issue affecting his constituents — without being violently thrown to the floor and handcuffed. Everyone who cares about our country must condemn this undemocratic act. Full stop.”
Congress
51 lawmakers sign letter to Rubio about Andry Hernández Romero
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) spoke about gay Venezuelan asylum seeker

Forty nine members of Congress and two U.S. senators, all Democrats, signed a letter Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding information about Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan national who was deported to El Salvador and imprisoned in the country’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT
“We are deeply concerned about the health and wellbeing of Mr. Hernández Romero, who left
Venezuela after experiencing discriminatory treatment because of his sexual orientation and
opposition to Venezuela’s authoritarian government,” the lawmakers wrote. They urged the State Department to facilitate his access to legal counsel and take steps to return him.
After passing a credible fear interview and while awaiting a court hearing in March, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly transported Hernández out of the U.S. without due process or providing evidence that he had committed any crime.
In the months since, pressure has been mounting. This past WorldPride weekend in Washington was kicked off with a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and a fundraiser, both supporting Hernández and attended by high profile figures including members of Congress, like U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.)
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) was among the four members who wrote to Rubio about Hernández in April. On Friday, he spoke with the Washington Blade before he and his colleagues, many more of them this time, sent the second letter to Rubio.
“There’s a lot of obviously horrible things that are happening with the asylum process and visas and international students and just the whole of our value system as it relates to immigration,” he said, which “obviously, is under attack.”
“Andry’s case, I think, is very unique and different,” the congressman continued. “There is, right now, public support that is building. I think he has captured people’s attention. And it’s growing — this is a movement that is not slowing down. He’s going to be a focal point for Pride this year. I mean, I think people around the world are interested in the story.”
Garcia said he hopes the momentum will translate to progress on requests for proof of life, adding that he was optimistic after meeting with Hernández’s legal team earlier on Friday.
“I mean, the president, Kristi Noem, Marco Rubio — any of these folks could could ask to see if just he’s alive,” the congressman said, referring to the secretary of Homeland Security, whom he grilled during a hearing last month. ICE is housed under the DHS.
“People need to remember, the most important part of this that people need to remember, this isn’t just an immigration issue,” Garcia noted. “This is a due process issue. This is an asylum case. We gave him this appointment. The United States government told him to come to his appointment, and then we sent him to another country, not his own, and locked him up with no due process. That’s the issue.”
Garcia said that so far neither he nor his colleagues nor Hernández’s legal team were able to get “any answers from the administration, which is why we’re continuing to advocate, which is why we’re continuing to reach out to Secretary Rubio.”
“A lot more Democrats are now engaged on this issue,” he said. U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both from California, joined Monday’s letter. “The more that we can get folks to understand how critical this is, the better. The momentum matters here. And I think Pride does provide an opportunity to share his story.”
Asked what the next steps might be, Garcia said “we’re letting his legal team really take the lead on strategy,” noting that Hernández’s attorneys have “already engaged with the ACLU” and adding, “It’s very possible that the Supreme Court could take this on.”
In the meantime, the congressman said “part of our job is to make sure that that people don’t forget Andry and that there is awareness about him, and I think there’s a responsibility, particularly during WorldPride, and during Pride, all throughout the month — like, this is a story that people should know. People should know his name and and people should be aware of what’s going on.”
Congress
Wasserman Schultz: Allies must do more to support LGBTQ Jews
A Wider Bridge honored Fla. congresswoman at Capital Jewish Museum on Thursday

Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Thursday said allies need to do more to support LGBTQ Jewish people in the wake of Oct. 7.
“Since Oct. 7, what has been appalling to me is that LGBTQ+ Jewish organizations and efforts to march in parades, to be allies, to give voice to other causes have faced rejection,” said the Florida Democrat at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. after A Wider Bridge honored her at its Pride event.
Wasserman Schultz, a Jewish Democrat who represents Florida’s 25th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, added the “silence of our allies … has been disappointing.”
“It makes your heart feel hollow and it makes me feel alone and isolated, which is why making sure that we have spaces that we can organize in every possible way in every sector of our society as Jews is so incredibly important,” she said.
The Israeli government says Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, killed roughly 1,200 people, including upwards of 360 partygoers at the Nova Music Festival, when it launched a surprise attack on the country. The militants also kidnapped more than 200 people on that day.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed nearly 55,000 people in the enclave since Oct. 7. Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who the Israel Defense Forces killed last October, are among those who have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and Israel.
A Wider Bridge is a group that “advocates for justice, counters LGBTQphobia, and fights antisemitism and other forms of hatred.”
Thursday’s event took place 15 days after a gunman killed two Israeli Embassy employees — Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim — as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum.
Police say a man who injured more than a dozen people on June 1 in Boulder, Colo., when he threw Molotov cocktails into a group of demonstrators who were calling for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages was yelling “Free Palestine.” The Associated Press notes that authorities said the man who has been charged in connection with the attack spent more than a year planning it.
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