Federal Government
EXCLUSIVE: Becerra, Levine plan to expand health equity in a second Biden-Harris administration
Officials spoke exclusively with the Blade on Monday

Speaking with the Washington Blade on Monday, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Assistant Health Secretary Adm. Rachel Levine detailed plans to expand health equity initiatives under a second Biden-Harris administration.
The conversation came shortly after the agency held a Progress Pride flag-raising ceremony, where U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), delivered opening remarks alongside the top HHS officials who also spoke at the department’s second annual Pride Summit later on Monday.
Levine highlighted a slate of recent actions and goals on which to build in a second term: The issuance in April of a final rule clarifying that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited under the Affordable Care Act; a demographic data collection plan on sexual orientation and gender identity metrics; the pursuit of regulations and litigation (coordinated with the Justice Department) to combat healthcare restrictions, including those which target LGBTQ communities; and the agency’s commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
“To put an exclamation point behind some of that,” Becerra said, “on SOGI, we think it’s important to gather the data that lets us figure out where to go next, or where you have issues” in “getting access to the care that you need.”
“And we know we’re going to end up in court with a lot of the rules that we’ve enacted,” added the secretary, who previously served as attorney general of California, “but we’re ready for that ā they’ll get tested, and we’re ready to defend [them].”
Becerra added that along with the initiatives outlined by Levine, HHS is looking to expand efforts in the behavioral health space to maximize opportunities to match patients with providers who have shared backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences.
That way, he said, “chances are that individual in need of care is going to open up faster. So we’re going to try to move quicker towards providing, in the behavioral health setting, people with lived experiences who can speak to what this individual is hurting from, is suffering from, so we can try to help them with their behavioral health challenges.”
The secretary praised the Biden-Harris administration’s pro-equality record, noting, “the fact that we’re the first department to fly the Pride flag, I think it shows that we’re out front, and we are very intent on making sure everyone has access to the care that they need.”
“And to do that, you’re going to find yourself in court,” Becerra said. “To do that, you need to do an aggressive job of collecting data. To do that, you have to show people that you can approach them with someone who’s experienced in what they’re going through. And so all of those things have to be amped up if we’re going to make further progress in the next administration’s four years.”
Levine repeatedly credited the secretary’s leadership as well as President Joe Biden’s work advancing equity throughout his administration, including through executive orders, when discussing HHS’s efforts to expand healthcare access and improve health outcomes for diverse populations including the LGBTQ community.
“One of the highlights, I think, of the Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Becerra’s leadership is the the emphasis on building representation in Washington that looks like the people of our country,” said Levine, who became the highest-ranking transgender government official with her appointment as assistant health secretary in 2021.
“Whether it is communities of color, whether it is the LGBTQI+ community, young people, seniors, I mean, we really want the the people who work for the people of our country to look like them and to represent them,” she said.
She also highlighted the extent to which her and Becerra’s work on this front has involved putting boots on the ground. “I’ve been to Austin. I’ve been to Dallas. I’ve been to Nashville. I’m going to Jacksonville. We tried to get to Idaho to Boise, but we got snowed out.”
“We are everywhere,” Levine said, adding that she likes to say the secretary has been doing “everything, everywhere, all at once,” (the title of a critically acclaimed film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2023.)
In a Pride month press release shared by the agency on Monday evening, Becerra said in a statement, “HHS works every day to build an America where LGBTQI+ Americans have access to quality, affordable health care and can go to the doctor without fear of stigma or discrimination. Where the state you live in doesnāt determine whether you can access lifesaving, gender-affirming care. And where more communities embrace the diversity that has always strengthened our national character.”
āPride reminds us that we are a strong, resilient, and powerful community that fights hate with love,” Levine said. “As we celebrate Pride Month, we should recognize how far we have come, even as we take stock of the challenges that we face. Everything we do at HHS emphasizes health equity and this pride month, we are making a focused effort to address and eliminate the health disparities within the LGBTQI+ community.”
She added, “We are focused on our efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S., prevent syphilis and congenital syphilis, and promote access to care for LGBTQI+ people across America. Together, we can work to support healthy people, healthy communities, and a healthy nation for all. I am a positive and optimistic person, and I believe that working together, we can create a healthier, better future for all people living in the United States.ā
Federal Government
Trump bans transgender service members from U.S. armed forces
Lambda Legal, HRC announce plans to sue

President Donald Trump on Monday signed a series of executive orders focused on the military, including a directive gutting the Pentagon’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs along with another banning transgender service members from the U.S. armed forces.
White House officials said new military standards for mental and physical readiness will exclude transgender troops, which would mean the EO goes further than the ban Trump implemented during his first term in 2017.
Among the first actions the president took after his inauguration on Jan. 20 was rescinding the order that former President Joe Biden signed immediately after he took office in 2021 that allowed trans and gender diverse service members to serve openly.
āThe implementation [of the ban] is on the DoD regarding specifics,ā a White House official told CNN.
A February 2018 memo by the U.S. Department of Defense contained carveouts to exempt trans service members already in uniform who had joined the military prior to the policy excluding them, along with those who do not require a change in gender or those who have been āstable for 36 consecutive months in their biological sex prior to accession.ā
DEI practices, meanwhile, will be subject to review by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was narrowly confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Friday.
Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign on Monday announced plans to sue the Trump-Vance administration “to block implementation of yet another discriminatory and dangerous attempt to bar patriotic transgender military service members from serving openly in the U.S. armed services,” Lambda Legal said in a press release.
āWe have been here before and seven years ago were able to successfully block the earlier administrationās effort to prevent patriotic, talented Americans from serving their country,ā said Sasha Buchert, Lambda Legal counsel and director of the Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project. āNot only is such a move cruel, it compromises the safety and security of our country and is particularly dangerous and wrong. As we promised then, so do we now: we will sue.”
āThousands of current service members are transgender, and many have been serving openly, courageously, and successfully in the U.S. military for more than eight years ā not to mention the previous decades when many were forced to serve in silence,” Buchert added. “Once again, as during the first term, the Trump administration is attacking a vulnerable population based on bias, political opportunism, and demonstrably untrue āalternative facts,ā denying brave men and women the opportunity to serve our country without any legitimate justification whatsoever.ā
Sarah Warbelow, vice president of legal at HRC, said āOur military servicemembers, including thousands of transgender troops, wear the same uniform, take the same oath, and meet the same rigorous standards,” adding, “They are heroes who put their lives on the line to protect our countryāand we owe them all a debt of gratitude.ā
āInstead, this discriminatory ban insults their service and puts our national security at risk. Expelling highly trained members of our military undermines military readiness and wastes years of financial and training investments,” Warbelow said.
“It also needlessly upends the lives of families who have already sacrificed so much,” she said. “The Commander-in-Chief should prioritize our militaryās safety and readiness, not use his position to issue bans on entire groups of people. This order is unconstitutional, and we will see this administration in court.ā
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights also filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the ban. The suit,Ā Talbott v. Trump, was filed on equal protection grounds on behalf of six active service members and two individuals actively seeking enlistment, according to a statement from the groups.
āWhen you put on the uniform, differences fall away and what matters is your ability to do the job,āĀ said Nicolas Talbott, Second Lieutenant, Army.Ā āEvery individual must meet the same objective and rigorous qualifications in order to serve.”
SPARTA Pride, a nonprofit of transgender people who currently serve or have served in the military, released a statement on Monday:
“Transgender Americans have served openly and honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces for nearly a decade. Thousands of transgender troops are currently serving, and are fully qualified for the positions in which they serve.
“Transgender service members currently fill critical roles in combat arms, aviation, nuclear engineering, law enforcement, and military intelligence, many requiring years of specialized training and expertise. Transgender troops have deployed to combat zones, served in high-stakes missions, and demonstrated their ability to strengthen unit cohesion and morale.
“While some transgender troops do have surgery, the recovery time and cost is minimal, and is scheduled so as not to impact deployments or mission readiness (all of which is similar to a non-emergent minor knee surgery). The readiness and physical capabilities of transgender service members is not different from that of other service members.
“SPARTA Pride is standing by to support all transgender service members impacted by this policy.”
āDonald Trumpās executive orders are not only cruel, discriminatory, and wrapped in disinformation, but they will make all of us less safe. Throughout our militaryās history, thousands of transgender people have served with honor, integrity, and bravery,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Womenās Law Center. “Attempting to ban them is an insult to their humanity and the contributions that they have made.”
āAdditionally, Trumpās decision to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives will lead to further harassment in our ranks, making underrepresented service members a greater target for discrimination,” she said. “Already we are hearing reports of anti-harassment policies being taken down based on the order to end equity and inclusion initiatives, which is appalling, misguided, and a gross insult to those who serve.”
Goss Graves added, “Everyone, regardless of race, gender or sex, should be able to work with dignityā including in the military ā without fear of discrimination and harassment. We will continue to fight against these harmful abuses of power.ā
Federal Government
Senate confirms gay Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent
Hedge fund manager confirmed by 68-29 vote margin

The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, openly gay hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.
Overcoming opposition from some economically progressive Senate Democrats like Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.), the nominee was confirmed by vote of 68-29.
Bessent during his hearing said that extending tax cuts that were passed during Trump’s first administration with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act but are slated to expire in 2025 will be a top priority.
āThis is pass-fail, that if we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity,” he told the senators.
“Today, I believe that President Trump has a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans,” Bessent said at his confirmation hearing.
According to Fortune Magazine, Bessent, who is a billionaire, disclosed assets worth an estimated $521 million.
He will be the second openly gay man to serve in the Cabinet, after Biden-Harris administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and in a Cabinet-level office, after Obama-Biden administration Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis and Trump-Pence administration Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell.
Federal Government
Trump-Vance administration removes LGBTQ, HIV resources from government websites
President took similar action shortly after his first inauguration in 2017

The Trump-Vance administration has “eliminated nearly all LGBTQ and HIV focused content and resources” from WhiteHouse.gov and “key federal agency” websites, GLAAD announced in a press release Tuesday.
Prior to President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, GLAAD had catalogued more than 50 links to LGBTQ- and HIV-related content on White House web pages and on websites for the State Department and the Departments of Education, Justice, Defense, Health and Human Services, and Labor, along with other agencies like the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
As of Tuesday, GLAAD specifically found that terms like ālesbian,ā ābisexual,ā āgay,ā ātransgender,ā āsexual orientation,ā āgender identity,ā and “LGBTQ” are “no longer accessible on WhiteHouse.gov,” while “some LGBTQ-specific pages have been taken down from sites for the Centers for Disease Control, Department of State, and more.”
Among the pages that are no longer accessible on WhiteHouse.gov are anĀ equity reportĀ Ā from July 2021, aĀ fact sheet with information on expanding access to HIV prevention and treatment from March 2024, and information about Pride Month.
Among the entries on federal agency websites that are no longer available are 94 entries for “LGBT Rights” that were once published on the State Department’s site and dozens of links to information and resources on “LGBTQI+ Policy” that were once available on the Department of Labor website.
āPresident Trump claims to be a strong proponent of freedom of speech, yet he is clearly committed to censorship of any information containing or related to LGBTQ Americans and issues that we face,” GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis said. “Todayās action proves the Trump administrationās goal of making it as difficult as possible for LGBTQ Americans to find federal resources or otherwise see ourselves reflected under his presidency.”
Ellis added, “Sadly for him, our community is more visible than ever; and this pathetic attempt to diminish and remove us will again prove unsuccessful.ā
Shortly after Trump’s first presidential inauguration in 2017, the Trump-Pence administration scrubbed the White House and federal government websites of LGBTQ and HIV related content, provoking backlash from LGBTQ advocates.
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