Congress
Democrats urge bipartisan cooperation, condemn new House Speaker’s extremism
Some say House GOP members in vulnerable districts will suffer political consequences
Following Wednesday’s election of the new Republican House Speaker, U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (La.), President Joe Biden and the top Democrats of both chambers pledged to work with him in good faith, noting the appropriations bills that must be passed before Nov. 17 to avoid a government shutdown and shore up America’s national security interests.
Meanwhile, other elected Democrats, along with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee, and advocacy groups closely tied to the party, responded by flagging Johnson’s far-right conservative record, particularly with respect to LGBTQ and reproductive rights – arguing, in many cases, that his election is proof of the Republican Party’s embrace of extremism.
“Mike Johnson is Jim Jordan in a sports coat,” DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement to the Washington Blade, comparing the lesser-known Republican leader with the outspoken, bomb-throwing hardline congressman from Ohio (who is often seen without a jacket).
He continued, “Electing him as Speaker sends a clear signal that the so-called moderate House Republicans have completely fallen in line with his repellent, discriminatory attacks on the LGBTQ community. From introducing a federal “Don’t Say Gay” bill to propelling openly homophobic commentary before Congress, Johnson has consistently attacked the LGBTQ community with hate and ignorance.”
The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBTQ candidates to public office, told the Blade that House Republicans’ choice of Johnson for speaker will jeopardize the seats of GOP members in vulnerable districts.
“Mike Johnson prides himself on discrimination and hatred for LGBTQ+ people, dedicating most of his career to opposing our basic rights. He introduced a federal “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is the current sponsor of three national abortion bans, is against marriage equality and wants to ban lifesaving gender-affirming care,” the group said in a statement.
The group’s statement continues, “By casting their ballots for Rep. Johnson, representatives like Ken Calvert, Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Mike Lawler have made their anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice views very clear. Polling shows voters favor pro-equality and pro-choice legislation – these extremist votes will undoubtedly have consequences on Election Day.”
In a post Wednesday pinned to her page on X, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.), the chamber’s second highest-ranking Democrat, said, “House Republicans have learned nothing from their three-week civil war. Mike Johnson wants to criminalize abortion everywhere and degrade democracy for everyone. They reject reasonable bipartisanship and celebrate MAGA fealty.”
The Congressional Equality Caucus released a statement from its Chair, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who said “Today, the House had the opportunity to elect a Speaker of the House who could lead in a bipartisan manner to move America forward. Instead, extreme MAGA Republicans elected a Speaker who has dedicated his career to attacking LGBTQI+ people and pushing an anti-equality agenda.”
“The House has already taken more than 10 anti-equality votes this Congress,” Pocan said. “By electing Mike Johnson—a vehement opponent of LGBTQI+ equality—as Speaker, his supporters have signaled they want these attacks against our community to continue.”
Six of the Equality Caucus’s eight co-chairs, all of whom are LGBTQ, condemned Johnson’s election in separate statements or posts on X: Democratic U.S. Reps. Mark Takano (Calif.), Becca Balint (Vt.), Robert Garcia (Calif.), Sharice Davids (Kan.) Eric Sorensen (Ill.), and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.).
Stalled for weeks by House GOP’s failure to choose a speaker, leading Democrats urge bipartisanship
In a statement congratulating Johnson, Biden said that while House Republicans spent the last 22 days trying to unite around a new leader, he was working on a funding package addressing national security needs, the border, and other investments on behalf of the American people:
“Jill and I congratulate Speaker Johnson on his election.
“As I said when this process began, whoever the Speaker is, I will seek to work with them in good faith on behalf of the American people. That’s a principle I have always held to, and that I’ve acted on – delivering major bipartisan legislation on infrastructure, outcompeting China, gun reform, and veterans care.
“I restated my willingness to continue working across the aisle after Republicans won the majority in the House last year. By the same token, the American people have made clear that they expect House Republicans to work with me and with Senate Democrats to govern across the aisle – to protect our urgent national security interests and grow our economy for the middle class.
“While House Republicans spent the last 22 days determining who would lead their conference, I have worked on those pressing issues, proposing a historic supplemental funding package that advances our bipartisan national security interests in Israel and Ukraine, secures our border, and invests in the American people. These priorities have been endorsed by leaders in both parties.
“We need to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown in 22 days. Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can. This is a time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship.”
According to a White House pool report Wednesday from The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief David Smith, Biden called Johnson to congratulate him and “expressed that he looks forward to working together to find common ground on behalf of the American people.”
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment addressing fears and concerns among the LGBTQ community over Johnson’s election.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) posted a clip on X from his floor speech in which he calls for bipartisan cooperation.
House Dems are ready to get to work.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) January 7, 2023
Defend the progress that has been made.
And continue to deliver for the people. pic.twitter.com/7PNIaWhcKX
Likewise, in a statement on X, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) said, “I look forward to meeting with Speaker Johnson soon to discuss the path forward to avoid a shutdown. I’ll convey that bipartisanship is the only way we can deliver results. The only way to avoid a shutdown, pass critical funding, deliver common-sense investments is bipartisanship.”
LGBTQ groups highlight Johnson’s extremism
The Human Rights Campaign issued a press release headlined: “As Extreme as It Gets: Supposed ‘Moderates’ in GOP Conference Choose as Speaker an Election Denier Who Called LGBTQ+ People a ‘Deviant Group’.
“The MAGA House majority has selected the most anti-equality Speaker in U.S. history by elevating Mike Johnson,” the organization’s President Kelley Robinson said in a statement, “a choice that will be a stain on the record of everyone who voted for him.”
“Johnson is someone who doesn’t hesitate to express his disdain for the LGTBQ+ community from the rooftops and then introduces legislation that seeks to erase us from society,” she wrote, adding, “Just like Jim Jordan, Mike Johnson is an election-denying, anti-LGBTQ+ extremist, and the lawmakers who appeared to stand on principle in opposing Jordan’s bid have revealed themselves to be just as out-of-touch as their new leader.”
After Robinson’s comments, HRC’s press release goes on to highlight Johnson’s “Appalling History of Attacking LGBTQ+ Rights.”
On X, GLAAD linked to the congressman’s GLAAD Accountability Project page, which contains details on his record, writing in the post that Johnson “has a long anti-LGBTQ history, including authoring a federal “Don’t Say LGBTQ” bill last year, working as senior attorney and spokesperson for the anti-LGBTQ group Alliance Defending Freedom.”
Brian K. Bond, president of PFLAG National, said the organization “welcomes an end to the constitutional crisis caused by the vacancy in the second in line to the presidency. To be clear, Speaker Johnson has a history of working to deny freedom to LGBTQ+ people and families in the U.S., to deny the legitimacy of the federal election, and to deny access to safe and legal abortion.”
“The role of Speaker requires that he works to preserve the rights and freedoms of all Americans, no matter their race, where they are from, their gender, or their ability,” he said, “and PFLAG is watching and willing to hold him accountable—because the lives and well-being of LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones depend on it.”
“I would be hard-pressed to think of a worse member to be elected speaker of the house, not simply for LGBTQ communities, but for the American people,” National LGBTQ Task Force Director Allen Morris said in an emailed statement.
“Many of my family members have resided in the 4th Congressional district of Louisiana for decades so I know from personal experience his track record on civil rights and minority issues is clear and stark as our community continues to find itself under attack,” he said.
“Americans should consider his track record on the preservation and maintenance of our very democracy as one that should concern us all,” Morris said. “This entire process of choosing a new speaker of the house has only served to expose even more how MAGA extremism continues to degrade our ability to allow Congress to reconcile the important issues impacting us.”
Congress
Top Congressional Democrats reintroduce Equality Act on Trump’s 100th day in office
Legislation would codify federal LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination protections
In a unified display of support for LGBTQ rights on President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office, congressional Democrats, including leadership from the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, reintroduced the Equality Act on Tuesday.
The legislation, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, codifying these protections into federal law in areas from jury service to housing and employment, faces an unlikely path to passage amid Republican control of both chambers of Congress along with the White House.
Speaking at a press conference on the grass across the drive from the Senate steps were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.), U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), who is the first out LGBTQ U.S. Senator, U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (Calif.), who is gay and chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (N.H.), who is gay and is running for the U.S. Senate, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (Ore.).
Also in attendance were U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (Del.), who is the first transgender member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (Nev.), U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (Ill.), and representatives from LGBTQ advocacy groups including the Human Rights Campaign and Advocates 4 Trans Equality.
Responding to a question from the Washington Blade on the decision to reintroduce the bill as Trump marks the hundredth day of his second term, Takano said, “I don’t know that there was a conscious decision,” but “it’s a beautiful day to stand up for equality. And, you know, I think the president is clearly hitting a wall that Americans are saying, many Americans are saying, ‘we didn’t vote for this.'”
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released Sunday showed Trump’s approval rating in decline amid signs of major opposition to his agenda.
“Many Americans never voted for this, but many Americans, I mean, it’s a great day to remind them what is in the core of what is the right side of history, a more perfect union. This is the march for a more perfect union. That’s what most Americans believe in. And it’s a great day on this 100th day to remind our administration what the right side of history is.”
Merkley, when asked about the prospect of getting enough Republicans on board with the Equality Act to pass the measure, noted that, “If you can be against discrimination in employment, you can be against discrimination in financial contracts, you can be against discrimination in mortgages, in jury duty, you can be against discrimination in public accommodations and housing, and so we’re going to continue to remind our colleagues that discrimination is wrong.”
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which was sponsored by Merkley, was passed by the Senate in 2013 but languished in the House. The bill was ultimately broadened to become the Equality Act.
“As Speaker Nancy Pelosi has always taught me,” Takano added, “public sentiment is everything. Now is the moment to bring greater understanding and greater momentum, because, really, the Congress is a reflection of the people.”
“While we’re in a different place right this minute” compared to 2019 and 2021 when the Equality Act was passed by the House, Pelosi said she believes “there is an opportunity for corporate America to weigh in” and lobby the Senate to convince members of the need to enshrine federal anti-discrimination protections into law “so that people can fully participate.”
Congress
Democratic lawmakers travel to El Salvador, demand information about gay Venezuelan asylum seeker
Congressman Robert Garcia led delegation
California Congressman Robert Garcia on Tuesday said the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador has agreed to ask the Salvadoran government about the well-being of a gay asylum seeker from Venezuela who remains incarcerated in the Central American country.
The Trump-Vance administration last month “forcibly removed” Andry Hernández Romero, a stylist who asked for asylum because of persecution he suffered because of his sexual orientation and political beliefs, and other Venezuelans from the U.S. and sent them to El Salvador.
The White House on Feb. 20 designated Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, as an “international terrorist organization.” President Donald Trump on March 15 invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which the Associated Press notes allows the U.S. to deport “noncitizens without any legal recourse.”
Garcia told the Washington Blade that he and three other lawmakers — U.S. Reps. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), and Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) — met with U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador William Duncan and embassy staffers in San Salvador, the Salvadoran capital.
“His lawyers haven’t heard from him since he was abducted during his asylum process,” said Garcia.
The gay California Democrat noted the embassy agreed to ask the Salvadoran government to “see how he (Hernández) is doing and to make sure he’s alive.”
“That’s important,” said Garcia. “They’ve agreed to that … we’re hopeful that we get some word, and that will be very comforting to his family and of course to his legal team.”
Garcia, Frost, Dexter, and Ansari traveled to El Salvador days after House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) denied their request to use committee funds for their trip.
“We went anyways,” said Garcia. “We’re not going to be intimidated by that.”
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on April 14 met with Trump at the White House. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) three days later sat down with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who the Trump-Vance administration wrongfully deported to El Salvador on March 15.
Abrego was sent to the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT. The Trump-Vance administration continues to defy a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ordered it to “facilitate” Abrego’s return to the U.S.
Garcia, Frost, Dexter, and Ansari in a letter they sent a letter to Duncan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday demanded “access to” Hernández, who they note “may be imprisoned at” CECOT. A State Department spokesperson referred the Blade to the Salvadoran government in response to questions about “detainees” in the country.
Garcia said the majority of those in CECOT who the White House deported to El Salvador do not have criminal records.
“They can say what they want, but if they’re not presenting evidence, if a judge isn’t sending people, and these people have their due process, I just don’t understand how we have a country without due process,” he told the Blade. “It’s just the bedrock of our democracy.”
Garcia said he and Frost, Dexter, and Ansari spoke with embassy staff, Salvadoran journalists and human rights activists and “anyone else who would listen” about Hernández. The California Democrat noted he and his colleagues also highlighted Abrego’s case.
“He (Hernández) was accepted for his asylum claim,” said Garcia. “He (Hernández) signed up for the asylum process on an app that we created for this very purpose, and then you get snatched up and taken to a foreign prison. It is unacceptable and inhumane and cruel and so it’s important that we elevate his story and his case.”
The Blade asked Garcia why the Trump-Vance administration is deporting people to El Salvador without due process.
“I honestly believe that he (Trump) is a master of dehumanizing people, and he wants to continue his horrendous campaign to dehumanize migrants and scare the American public and lie to the American public,” said Garcia.
The State Department spokesperson in response to the Blade’s request for comment referenced spokesperson Tammy Bruce’s comments about Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador.
“These Congressional representatives would be better off focused on their own districts,” said the spokesperson. “Instead, they are concerned about non-U.S. citizens.”
Congress
Goodlander endorses Pappas’s Senate bid
Announcement puts gay congressman on the path to securing his party’s nomination
U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) on Thursday announced she will not run to represent her state in the U.S. Senate, endorsing gay U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas’s (D-N.H.) bid for the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, putting him on the path to secure the Democratic nomination.
“We are in the fight of our lifetimes right now, of a moment of real crisis and challenge,” she said. “I feel humbled and grateful to so many people across our state who have encouraged me to take a look at the U.S. Senate, and after a lot of thought and conversations with people I love and people I respect and people who I had never met before, who I work for in this role right now, I’ve decided that I’m running for re election in the House of Representatives.”
When asked by a reporter from the ABC affiliate station in New Hampshire whether she would endorse Pappas, Goodlander said, “Yes. Chris Pappas has been amazing partner to me in this work and for many years. And I really admire him. I have a lot of confidence in him.”
She continued, “He and I come to this work, I think with a similar set of values, we also have really similar family stories. Our families both came to New Hampshire over 100 years ago from the very same part of northern Greece. And the values that he brings to this work are ones that that I really, really admire. So I’m proud to support him, and I’m really excited to be working with him right now because we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Today in Salem @MaggieG603 tells @WMUR9 she is not running for U.S. Senate & endorses @ChrisPappasNH #NHPolitics #NHSen #NH02 #WMUR pic.twitter.com/W2CMrhRuIC
— Adam Sexton (@AdamSextonWMUR) April 17, 2025
“Maggie Goodlander has dedicated her career to service, and we can always count on her to stand up to powerful interests and put people first,” Pappas said in a post on X. “I’m so grateful to call her my friend and teammate, and I’m proud to support her re-election and stand with her in the fights ahead.”
Earlier this month, former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, announced he would not enter the Senate race, strengthening the odds that Democrats will retain control of Shaheen’s seat.
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth
Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador
English soccer bans transgender women from women’s teams
TRAITOR: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blood on his hands
Chronicling disastrous effects of ‘conversion therapy’
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
We must show up to WorldPride 2025 in D.C.
Ruby Corado sentencing postponed for third time
A room with Pride: D.C.’s LGBTQ history finds a new home at the Eaton
-
Books4 days agoChronicling disastrous effects of ‘conversion therapy’
-
U.S. Federal Courts3 days agoSecond federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
-
Opinions4 days agoWe must show up to WorldPride 2025 in D.C.
-
District of Columbia3 days agoRuby Corado sentencing postponed for third time