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
Congress passes ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ with massive cuts to health insurance coverage
Roughly 1.8 million LGBTQ Americans rely on Medicaid

The “Big, Beautiful Bill” heads to President Donald Trump’s desk following the vote by the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday, which saw two nays from GOP members and unified opposition from the entire Democratic caucus.
To partially offset the cost of tax breaks that disproportionately favor the wealthy, the bill contains massive cuts to Medicaid and social safety net programs like food assistance for the poor while adding a projected $3.3 billion to the deficit.
Policy wise, the signature legislation of Trump’s second term rolls back clean energy tax credits passed under the Biden-Harris administration while beefing up funding for defense and border security.
Roughly 13 percent of LGBTQ adults in the U.S., about 1.8 million people, rely on Medicaid as their primary health insurer, compared to seven percent of non-LGBTQ adults, according to the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute think tank on sexual orientation and gender identities.
In total, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the cuts will cause more than 10 million Americans to lose their coverage under Medicaid and anywhere from three to five million to lose their care under Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
A number of Republicans in the House and Senate opposed the bill reasoning that they might face political consequences for taking away access to healthcare for, particularly, low-income Americans who rely on Medicaid. Poorer voters flocked to Trump in last year’s presidential election, exit polls show.
A provision that would have blocked the use of federal funds to reimburse medical care for transgender youth was blocked by the Senate Parliamentarian and ultimately struck from the legislation — reportedly after the first trans member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) and the first lesbian U.S. senator, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), shored up unified opposition to the proposal among Congressional Democrats.
Congress
Ritchie Torres says he is unlikely to run for NY governor
One poll showed gay Democratic congressman nearly tied with Kathy Hochul

Gay Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres of New York is unlikely to challenge New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in the state’s next gubernatorial race, he said during an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“I’m unlikely to run for governor,” he said. ““I feel like the assault that we’ve seen on the social safety net in the Bronx is so unprecedented. It’s so overwhelming that I’m going to keep my focus on Washington, D.C.”
Torres and Hochul were nearly tied in a poll this spring of likely Democratic voters in New York City, fueling speculation that the congressman might run. A Siena College poll, however, found Hochul leading with a wider margin.
Back in D.C., the congressman and his colleagues are unified in their opposition to President Donald Trump’s signature legislation, the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which heads back to the House after passing the Senate by one vote this week.
To pay for tax cuts that disproportionately advantage the ultra-wealthy and large corporations, the president and Congressional Republicans have proposed massive cuts to Medicaid and other social programs.
A provision in the Senate version of the bill that would have blocked the use of federal funds to reimburse medical care for transgender youth was blocked by the Senate Parliamentarian and ultimately struck from the legislation, reportedly after pressure from transgender U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) and lesbian U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).
Torres on “Morning Joe” said, “The so-called Big Beautiful Bill represents a betrayal of the working people of America and nowhere more so than in the Bronx,” adding, “It’s going to destabilize every health care provider, every hospital.”
Congress
House Democrats oppose Bessent’s removal of SOGI from discrimination complaint forms
Congressional Equality Caucus sharply criticized move

A letter issued last week by a group of House Democrats objects to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s removal of sexual orientation and gender identity as bases for sex discrimination complaints in several Equal Employment Opportunity forms.
Bessent, who is gay, is the highest ranking openly LGBTQ official in American history and the second out Cabinet member next to Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary during the Biden-Harris administration.
The signatories to the letter include a few out members of Congress, Congressional Equality Caucus chair and co-chairs Mark Takano (Calif.), Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), and Becca Balint (Vt.), along with U.S. Reps. Nikema Williams (Ga.), Hank Johnson (Ga.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), and Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas).
The letter explains the “critical role” played by the EEO given the strictures and limits on how federal employees can find recourse for unlawful workplace discrimination — namely, without the ability to file complaints directly with the Employment Opportunity Commission or otherwise engage with the agency unless the complainant “appeal[s] an agency’s decision following the agency’s investigation or request[s] a hearing before an administrative judge.”
“Your attempt to remove ‘gender identity’ and ‘sexual orientation’ as bases for sex discrimination complaints in numerous Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) forms will create unnecessary hurdles to employees filing EEO complaints and undermine enforcement of federal employee’s nondiscrimination protections,” the members wrote in their letter.
They further explain the legal basis behind LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination protections for federal employees in the EEOC’s decisions in Macy v. Holder (2012) and Baldwin v. Foxx (2015) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020).
“It appears that these changes may be an attempt by the department to dissuade employees from reporting gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination,” the lawmakers wrote. “Without forms clearly enumerating gender identity and sexual orientation as forms of sex discrimination, the average employee who experiences these forms of discrimination may see these forms and not realize that the discrimination they experienced was unlawful and something that they can report and seek recourse for.”
“A more alarming view would be that the department no longer plans to fulfill its legal obligations to investigate complaints of gender identity and sexual orientation and ensure its
employees are working in an environment free from these forms of discrimination,” they added.
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