Politics
Harris chooses Walz as running mate; LGBTQ groups celebrate
Minn. governor has a strong pro-LGBTQ record

Vice President Kamala Harris has selected Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate, multiple press outlets reported on Tuesday.
The vice president and her campaign had a short runway to make the decision leading into the Democratic National Convention in mid-August. Harris emerged as the frontrunner shortly after President Joe Biden announced his decision to step aside on July 21.
Walz, who is serving in his second term and chairs the Democratic Governors Association, represented a red-leaning district in the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years. The governor was introduced to many Americans when he surfaced as a top vice presidential candidate in recent weeks.
In public appearances, Walz made headlines for his plainspoken progressive appeal to voters, attracting even more attention for his line of attack against Republican opponents, former President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who he called “weird dudes.”
The Hill’s Brooke Migdon wrote last week that Walz “helped make Minnesota an LGBTQ ‘refuge,'” shielding access to gender affirming care and abortion, banning so-called conversion therapy, and prohibiting book bans targeting titles with LGBTQ characters and themes.
In 1999, Walz advised Mankato West High School’s first gay-straight alliance (GSA) club, Migdon notes. The social studies teacher would then oust anti-LGBTQ longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht in 2006, running on a platform supporting same-sex marriage, which Minnesota had banned in 1997.
Once elected, Walz, who had served for 24 years in the Army National Guard, fought for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the policy prohibiting LGBTQ members of the U.S. Armed Forces from serving openly, and played a major role in passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
LGBTQ groups celebrate
Kat Rohn, executive director of OutFront Minnesota, the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, told the Washington Blade by email that “Tim Walz has been a longstanding ally to the LGBTQ+ community — from the classroom to elected office.”
“Here in Minnesota we have seen that first hand through how he has engaged on our issues and through policy that has advanced under his leadership — including signing into law bills that ban conversion ‘therapy,’ end the LGBTQ+ panic defense, and establish MN as a trans refuge state,” Rohn said. “At a time when LGBTQ+ communities are under attack, Gov. Walz has made it clear that welcome and inclusion are Minnesotan values, and we’re excited to see how that continues onto the national stage.”
“There’s no doubt — Kamala Harris has electrified the nation and breathed new hope into the race,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “Her pick of governor Walz sends a message that a Harris-Walz administration will be committed to advancing equality and justice for all.”
“That is the choice we are faced with in America,” Robinson said. “A Trump-Vance Administration that would demonize LGBTQ+ people, terrorize our families, send our rights and freedoms back to ‘The Land Before Time’ and install Project 2025. Or a Harris-Walz Administration that will fight for our freedoms, defend our families, and make America a place where people don’t just get by — but can get ahead.”
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis said, “Vice President Harris’ choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz underscores a longstanding commitment to the equality, prosperity, and safety of all Americans, including and especially for LGBTQ people. Gov. Walz has a proven record of including and protecting LGBTQ people and the fundamental freedoms all Americans treasure.”
“In this consequential election, we need all voices to speak up for the rights of LGBTQ people to be welcome as we are, live free from discrimination and harm, and pursue our own success and happiness,” Ellis said. “Voters can review the records of the Harris-Walz ticket to inform their own choices this fall, to reflect the country they want to live in, and to envision a future where all of us are more safe and free.”
LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President Annise Parker said, “Governor Tim Walz is a strong ally for our community and a staunch supporter of LGBTQ+ equality. As governor, Walz worked with LGBTQ+ legislators to transform Minnesota into a refuge for LGBTQ+ families, a state where equality is the law of the land.”
“A Harris-Walz ticket will certainly push the movement for equality forward, and we expect a Harris-Walz administration will continue the historic levels of LGBTQ+ representation among presidential appointments,” Parker said. “We are confident that our work to elect pro-equality, pro-choice LGBTQ+ candidates will have a major impact up-ticket and that our candidates will win in November and make our government more reflective of our country’s highest values. ”
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund Vice President Sayre E. Reece said:
“The National LGBTQ Action Fund expected a strategic and bold choice as a strong addition to the ticket as a vice presidential candidate. In Governor Walz we have gotten both. We applaud Vice President Harris’ decision and fully support the Harris/Walz ticket – in fact, you could call this a ‘Golden ticket.’
Governor Walz has been a steadfast ally and advocate for the LGBTQ community, including support for trans affirming care, bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom and gun control. As governor, Walz signed a ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’ into law, ending the harmful and cruel practice that has cost LGBTQ people their dignity and their lives. Under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota is both a ‘trans sanctuary’ and immigration sanctuary state.
The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund will advocate for continued support and action to address the challenges LGBTQ people face, from anti-trans legislation and discrimination to fair and inclusive immigration policy, reproductive rights and more.
Governor Walz is a champion of immigration rights and protections for all, he supports serious and impactful plan to combat climate change and expansive gun control legislation — we know that these are queer issues, and our communities will continue to benefit from his leadership on these issue and others.
“Understanding how LGBTQ populations are impacted by a wide variety of these issues and more will be critical to our communities to stem the tide of anti-LGBTQ attacks and work for more representation and progress connected to all work of the next administration.
We need bold and powerful voices to take on the divisive messages and outright lies, dangerous policies and plans of the Trump campaign and this ticket can and should do that as we enter the final months before the November elections.”
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.”
Politics
George Santos sentenced to 87 months in prison for fraud case
Judge: ‘You got elected with your words, most of which were lies.’

Disgraced former Republican congressman George Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison on Friday, after pleading guilty last year to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
“Mr. Santos, words have consequences,” said Judge Joanna Seybert of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. “You got elected with your words, most of which were lies.”
The first openly gay GOP member of Congress, Santos became a laughing stock after revelations came to light about his extensive history of fabricating and exaggerating details about his life and career.
His colleagues voted in December 2023 to expel him from Congress. An investigation by the U.S. House Ethics Committee found that Santos had used pilfered campaign funds for cosmetic procedures, designer fashion, and OnlyFans.
Federal prosecutors, however, found evidence that “Mr. Santos stole from donors, used his campaign account for personal purchases, inflated his fund-raising numbers, lied about his wealth on congressional documents and committed unemployment fraud,” per the New York Times.
The former congressman told the paper this week that he would not ask for a pardon. Despite Santos’s loyalty to President Donald Trump, the president has made no indication that he would intervene in his legal troubles.
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.”
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