State Department
State Department spokesperson to step down
Ned Price is first openly gay person named to role
State Department spokesperson Ned Price will step down at the end of this month.
Price has been at the State Department since the first day of the Biden-Harris administration, and is the first openly gay person named to the role. Price was previously a senior communications official for the National Security Council and worked at the Central Intelligence Agency.
“Ned began as spokesperson on January 20, 2021,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday in a press release that announced Price’s resignation. “Within days of taking on the role, he restored the department’s daily press briefings, giving journalists the chance to regularly ask tough questions of our policy. Throughout the more than 200 briefings he has since held, he’s treated journalists — as well as colleagues and everyone else he interacts with — with respect.”
“Ned has helped the U.S. government defend and promote press freedom around the globe and modeled the transparency and openness we advocate for in other countries,” added Blinken. “His contributions will benefit the department long after his service.”
Blinken said Price’s “firm grasp of the policies underlying our messaging made him that much more effective in his role.”
“On a personal level, I have constantly benefited from his counsel, as have so many members of the department,” said Blinken. “Fortunately, I’ll be able to continue to do that, as Ned will continue to serve at State, working directly for me.”
“For people in America and around the world, Ned Price has often been a face and voice of U.S. foreign policy,” added Blinken. “He’s performed with extraordinary professionalism and integrity. On behalf of the department, I thank Ned for his remarkable service.”
Price during a May 2021 interview with the Washington Blade said the decriminalization of consensual same-sex sexual relations is one of the five priorities for the Biden-Harris administration in its efforts to promote LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad.
Blinken last June spoke to this reporter and five other LGBTQ and intersex journalists during a roundtable at the State Department. Price and Jessica Stern, the special U.S. envoy for LGBTQ and intersex rights, are among those who also participated.
Russia’s continued crackdown on LGBTQ and intersex rights are among the issues about which Price spoke during his briefings. Price’s tenure also coincided with WNBA star Brittney Griner’s arrest in Moscow, and her eventual release from a Russian penal colony where she had been serving a 9-year sentence after a court convicted her of smuggling drugs into the country.
The State Department has not announced who will succeed Price.
State Department
New State Department policy bans embassies from flying Pride flag
Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed directive this week
The Washington Blade has obtained a copy of a new State Department policy that bans embassies and other U.S. diplomatic institutions from flying the Pride flag.
“Per the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024, only the United States of America flag is authorized to be flown or otherwise publicly displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestic and abroad, and featured in U.S. government content,” reads directive that Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed. “No symbol or affiliation marking other than those authorized by U.S. statute, the president, or the secretary may be displayed, projected, or exhibited at any U.S. facility, both domestic and abroad.”
The policy states the U.S. flag “unites all Americans under the universal principles of justice, liberty, and democracy.”
“These values, which are the bedrock of our great country, are shared by all American citizens, past and present,” it reads. “The U.S. flag is a powerful symbol of pride and it is fitting and respectful that only the U.S. flag be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestically and abroad and in accordance with Chapter 1 of 4 U.S. C. ‘The Flag.”
The policy’s only exception is the POW/MIA flag.
The previous administration banned Pride flags from flying at U.S. embassies. (The Blade in 2018 saw the Pride flag attached to the fence that surrounds the U.S. Embassy in Havana.)
The State Department in 2021 for the first time flew the Progress Pride flag. Then-Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and then-Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley are among those who helped raise it. Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2021 said American diplomatic installations could once again fly the Pride flag.
Former President Joe Biden last March signed a government spending bill with a provision that banned Pride flags from flying over U.S. embassies.
State Department
Trump executive order bans passports with ‘X’ gender markers
President signed directive hours after he took office
A sweeping executive order that President Donald Trump issued on Monday bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers.
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2021 announced the State Department would begin to issue gender-neutral passports and documents for American citizens who were born overseas.
Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as nonbinary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.
The State Department policy took effect on April 11, 2022.
“The secretaries of State and Homeland Security, and the director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall implement changes to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex,” reads Trump’s executive order.
The gender marker is among the provisions contained within Trump’s executive order titled “Defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government.” Trump in his inaugural speech said the federal government’s “official policy” is “there are only two genders, male and female.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday told the NOTUS website the executive order is not retroactive and will not invalidate current passports with a gender-neutral gender marker.
“They can still apply to renew their passport — they just have to use their God-given sex, which was decided at birth,” said Leavitt. “Thanks to President Trump, it is now the official policy of the federal government that there are only two sexes — male and female.”
The Washington Blade will have additional reporting on Trump’s executive orders and their impact on the LGBTQ community.
State Department
Senate confirms Marco Rubio as next secretary of state
Fla. Republican will succeed Antony Blinken
The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to become the next secretary of state.
The vote took place hours after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday advanced Rubio’s nomination before senators approved it by a 99-0 vote margin.
The promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad was a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris administration’s foreign policy.
Rubio in 2022 defended Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed. The Florida Republican that year also voted against the Respect for Marriage Act that passed with bipartisan support.
Rubio during his Jan. 15 confirmation hearing did not speak about LGBTQ rights.
New State Department policy bans embassies from flying Pride flag
Thailand marriage equality law takes effect
Originally charged with hate crimes, Salisbury University students now face misdemeanor charges
New book is a fun whodunit set in London drag world
Ugandan advocacy groups step up fight against mpox
Trump-Vance administration removes LGBTQ, HIV resources from government websites
Trump previews anti-trans executive orders in inaugural address
Va. Senate approves resolution to repeal marriage amendment
Meta’s policy changes ‘putting us back in the dark ages’
Trump executive order bans passports with ‘X’ gender markers
-
Federal Government3 days agoTrump-Vance administration removes LGBTQ, HIV resources from government websites
-
Politics3 days agoTrump previews anti-trans executive orders in inaugural address
-
Virginia2 days agoVa. Senate approves resolution to repeal marriage amendment
-
National3 days agoMeta’s policy changes ‘putting us back in the dark ages’