Politics
Partisan rancor continues over Gigi Sohn’s historic FCC nomination
Committee urged to reject ‘homophobic and unfair attacks’
Gigi Sohn, President Joe Biden’s nominee for commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, faced a contentious third hearing before the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Tuesday.
“I only ask to be treated the way other nominees were treated,” she told U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who questioned Sohn’s ability to act in an objective manner if confirmed given her history of working on behalf of public interest groups.
“The role of a policymaker is different from that of an advocate,” Sohn said, noting “[Former] Chairman [Ajit] Pai worked at Verizon, and I’m sure he was a fervent advocate for Verizon” during that time and prior to his tenure as FCC chair.
The contention that Sohn has been treated differently from other nominees has recently given rise to accusations of homophobia. Last week, the LGBTQ Victory Institute issued a letter with more than 375 signatories urging Congress to confirm Sohn’s nomination.
The letter cited right-wing media coverage that has sought to infer a link between Sohn and child sexual abuse and exploitation by virtue of her membership on the board of an organization that came out against child sex trafficking laws that, the group has argued, are ineffective.
However, remarks by Republicans on the committee Tuesday did not directly address these matters. For their part, Democratic members, beginning with Committee Chair U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), took the opportunity to celebrate that Sohn made history as the first openly gay nominee for FCC commissioner.
Those remarks were echoed later by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who was the first openly LGBTQ woman elected to serve in the House as well as in the Senate.
“Millions of people across the country including myself are grateful for you continuing to pave the way for LGBTQ people who want to serve our country,” Baldwin said.
In a comment emailed to the Washington Blade shortly after the hearing on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said, “Ms. Sohn has faced baseless attacks from industry-backed lobbyists and mouthpieces since President Biden nominated her.”
“Congress must reject the homophobic and unfair attacks on Ms. Sohn and confirm her as soon as possible,” Markey said.
During the hearing, Markey noted he has known Sohn for 30 years. “She is one of the single most qualified candidates for any position ever to come before the Commerce committee for confirmation,” he said.
Markey’s comments also spotlighted the important work in which Sohn will be engaged, if and when she is confirmed to serve on the FCC.
“The FCC has important work to do to bridge the digital divide, protect consumers, and ensure that every household in our country has access to a free and open internet upheld by strong net neutrality rules,” the senator told the Blade by email.
The FCC is an independent agency governed by a bipartisan slate of commissioners serving under Democratic Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. Several of the exchanges on Tuesday focused on how American consumers have been negatively impacted by the vacancy that has remained since Sohn was first nominated by Biden in October 2021.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked Sohn to explain why it was important to have a fully constituted FCC for the rollout of the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress last year.
“Myriad ways,” Sohn said. “First, I would love to be able to help the FCC ensure they have the most accurate broadband map … Without that, money spent by [the] Commerce Department won’t go to the right places,” she said. “I could be an enormous help in that regard.”
Spokespeople from the Commerce Department did not immediately return a request from the Blade for comment.
Republicans on the Committee, beginning with Ranking Member U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) focused their comments and questions on allegations that Sohn harbors deeply held prejudice against conservatives.
“There’s a reason we’re on our third nomination hearing,” Cruz said. “She’s shown herself to be a partisan and associated herself repeatedly with the most extreme views on the far-left.”
“She has engaged in extreme vitriol,” Cruz said. “She has deep ties to far-left organizations and has promoted anti-police views.”
Sohn repeatedly batted away these accusations, which were reiterated by other GOP members, by denying that she shares all of the views espoused by public interest groups with which she has associated.
She also denied there was any link between many of the matters discussed by opponents to her nomination and the actual work she would do at the FCC if confirmed. In many cases, Sohn pointed out that the agency does not have any domain over the issues raised by committee members.
Under questioning from Republican members about instances — many of which happened several years ago — in which she retweeted or otherwise seemed to endorse incendiary messages about conservative media figures and politicians, Sohn said “I will admit that some of my tweets have been sharp,” adding, “The country has changed a lot since 2016.”
Cantwell noted that despite her past tweets, Sohn’s nomination has been endorsed by the presidents of news networks OAN and Newsmax, which are billed as more conservative alternatives to Fox News.
Freshman U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) accused Sohn, by virtue of her past comments, of being part of a “weird trend to be very racialized, to criticize racial groups,” pointing to her decision to re-tweet acclaimed actor and comedian Issa Rae’s tweet calling former President Donald Trump a “raggedy white supremacist” who “would rather kill everybody than stop killing black people.”
Vance then turned his attention to comments made by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the wake of a train derailment earlier this month in East Palestine, Ohio, by rail cars carrying toxic chemicals.
“We had a really bad train crash in Ohio,” Vance said. “We’re doing as much as we can to help constituents. But [Sec.] Buttigieg, instead of commenting on this, focused on [what he called] the ‘terrible scourge of too many white men in the construction industry.’ It was a terrible focus for the Secretary of Transportation.”
Andrés I. Jové Rodríguez contributed to this article.
Congress
McBride, other US lawmakers travel to Denmark
Trump’s demand for Greenland’s annexation overshadowed trip
Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride is among the 11 members of Congress who traveled to Denmark over the past weekend amid President Donald Trump’s continued calls for the U.S. to take control of Greenland.
McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, traveled to Copenhagen, the Danish capital, with U.S. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and Sarah Jacobs (D-Calif.). The lawmakers met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic MP Pipaluk Lynge, among others.
“I’m grateful to Sen. Coons for his leadership in bringing together a bipartisan, bicameral delegation to reaffirm our support in Congress for our NATO ally, Denmark,” said McBride in a press release that detailed the trip. “Delaware understands that our security and prosperity depend on strong partnerships rooted in mutual respect, sovereignty, and self-determination. At a time of growing global instability, this trip could not be more poignant.”
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark with a population of less than 60,000 people. Trump maintains the U.S. needs to control the mineral-rich island in the Arctic Ocean between Europe and North America because of national security.
The Associated Press notes thousands of people on Saturday in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, protested against Trump. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is among those who have criticized Trump over his suggestion the U.S. would impose tariffs against countries that do not support U.S. annexation of Greenland.
A poll that Sermitsiaq, a Greenlandic newspaper, and Berlingske, a Danish newspaper, commissioned last January indicates 85 percent do not want Greenland to become part of the U.S. The pro-independence Demokraatit party won parliamentary elections that took place on March 12, 2025.
“At this critical juncture for our countries, our message was clear as members of Congress: we value the U.S.-Denmark partnership, the NATO alliance, and the right of Greenlanders to self-determination,” said McBride on Sunday in a Facebook post that contained pictures of her and her fellow lawmakers meeting with their Danish and Greenlandic counterparts.
Congress
Van Hollen speaks at ‘ICE Out for Good’ protest in D.C.
ICE agent killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is among those who spoke at an “ICE Out for Good” protest that took place outside U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s headquarters in D.C. on Tuesday.
The protest took place six days after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis.
Good left behind her wife and three children.
(Video by Michael K. Lavers)
Congress
Advocates say MTG bill threatens trans youth, families, and doctors
The “Protect Children’s Innocence” Act passed in the House
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has a long history of targeting the transgender community as part of her political agenda. Now, after announcing her resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives, attempting to take away trans rights may be the last thing she does in her official capacity.
The proposed legislation, dubbed “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” is among the most extreme anti-trans measures to move through Congress. It would put doctors in jail for up to 10 years if they provide gender-affirming care to minors — including prescribing hormone replacement therapy to adolescents or puberty blockers to younger children. The bill also aims to halt gender-affirming surgeries for minors, though those procedures are rare.
Greene herself described the bill on X, saying if passed, “it would make it a Class C felony to trans a child under 18.”
According to KFF, a nonpartisan source for health policy research, polling, and journalism, 27 states have enacted policies limiting youth access to gender-affirming care. Roughly half of all trans youth ages 13–17 live in a state with such restrictions, and 24 states impose professional or legal penalties on health care practitioners who provide that care.
Greene has repeatedly introduced the bill since 2021, the year she entered Congress, but it failed to advance. Now, in exchange for her support for the National Defense Authorization Act, the legislation reached the House floor for the first time.
According to the 19th, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first trans member of Congress, rebuked Republicans on the Capitol steps Wednesday for advancing anti-trans legislation while allowing Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire — a move expected to raise health care costs for millions of Americans.
“They would rather have us focus in and debate a misunderstood and vulnerable one percent of the population, instead of focusing in on the fact that they are raiding everyone’s health care,” McBride said. “They are obsessed with trans people … they are consumed with this.”
Polling suggests the public largely opposes criminalizing gender-affirming care.
A recent survey by the Human Rights Campaign and Global Strategy Group found that 73 percent of voters in U.S. House battleground districts oppose laws that would jail doctors or parents for providing transition-related care. Additionally, 77 percent oppose forcing trans people off medically recommended medication. Nearly seven in 10 Americans said politicians are not informed enough to make decisions about medical care for trans youth.
The bill passed the House and now heads to the U.S. Senate for further consideration.
According to reporting by Erin Reed of Erin In The Morning, three Democrats — U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Don Davis of North Carolina — crossed party lines to vote in favor of the felony ban, joining 213 Republicans. A total of 207 Democrats voted against the bill, while three lawmakers from both parties abstained.
Advocates and lawmakers warned the bill is dangerous and unprecedented during a multi-organizational press call Tuesday. Leaders from the Human Rights Campaign and the Trevor Project joined U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Dr. Kenneth Haller, and parents of trans youth to discuss the potential impact of restrictive policies like Greene’s — particularly in contrast to President Donald Trump’s leniency toward certain criminals, with more than 1,500 pardons issued this year.
“Our MAGA GOP government has pardoned drug traffickers. They’ve pardoned people who tried to overthrow the government on January 6, but now they want to put pediatricians and parents into a jail cell for caring for their kids,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “No one asked for Marjorie Taylor Greene or Dan Crenshaw or any politician to be in their doctor’s office, and they should mind their own business.”
Balint, co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, questioned why medical decisions are being made by lawmakers with no clinical expertise.
“Parents and doctors already have to worry about state laws banning care for their kids, and this bill would introduce the risk of federal criminal prosecution,” Balint said. “We’re talking about jail time. We’re talking about locking people up for basic medical care, care that is evidence-based, age-appropriate and life-saving.”
“These are decisions that should be made by doctors and parents and those kids that need this gender-affirming care, not certainly by Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
Haller, an emeritus professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University School of Medicine, described the legislation as rooted in ideology rather than medicine.
“It is not science, it is just blind ideology,” Haller said.
“The doctor tells you that as parents, as well as the doctor themselves, could be convicted of a felony and be sentenced up to 10 years in prison just for pursuing a course of action that will give your child their only chance for a happy and healthy future,” he added. “It is not in the state’s best interests, and certainly not in the interests of us, the citizens of this country, to interfere with medical decisions that people make about their own bodies and their own lives.”
Haller’s sentiment is echoed by doctors across the country.
The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest organization that represents doctors across the country in various parts of medicine has a longstanding support for gender-affirming care.
“The AMA supports public and private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender dysphoria and opposes the denial of health insurance based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” their website reads.
Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, senior vice president of public engagement campaigns at the Trevor Project, agreed.
“In Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill [it] even goes so far as to criminalize and throw a parent in jail for this,” Heng-Lehtinen said. “Medical decisions should be between patients, families, and their doctors.”
Rachel Gonzalez, a parent of a transgender teen and LGBTQ advocate, said the bill would harm families trying to act in their children’s best interests.
“No politician should be in any doctor’s office or in our living room making private health care decisions — especially not Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Gonzalez said. “My daughter and no trans youth should ever be used as a political pawn.”
Other LGBTQ rights activists also condemned the legislation.
Tyler Hack, executive director of the Christopher Street Project, called the bill “an abominable attack on the transgender community.”
“Marjorie Taylor Greene’s last-ditch effort to bring her 3-times failed bill to a vote is an abominable attack on the transgender community and further cements a Congressional career defined by hate and bigotry,” they said. “We are counting down the days until she’s off Capitol Hill — but as the bill goes to the floor this week, our leaders must stand up one last time to her BS and protect the safety of queer kids and medical providers. Full stop.”
Hack added that “healthcare is a right, not a privilege” in the U.S., and this attack on trans healthcare is an attack on queer rights altogether.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene has no place in deciding what care is necessary,” Hack added. “This is another attempt to legislate trans and queer people out of existence while peddling an agenda rooted in pseudoscience and extremism.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, also denounced the legislation.
“This bill is the most extreme anti-transgender legislation to ever pass through the House of Representatives and a direct attack on the rights of parents to work with their children and their doctors to provide them with the medical care they need,” Takano said. “This bill is beyond cruel and its passage will forever be a stain on the institution of the United States Congress.”
The bill is unlikely to advance in the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to pass.
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