Politics
Trump wins presidency
Easily claims victory in key battleground states, smashing ‘Blue Wall’

Former President Donald Trump is set to become president-elect Donald Trump after winning Wisconsin Wednesday morning, clinching 277 of the 270 necessary electoral votes.
He will return to the White House with a Republican Senate, though control of the U.S. House of Representatives remains in limbo with many key contests too close to call.
Vice President Kamala Harris cancelled a planned appearance at her campaign’s watch party at Howard University, her alma mater, on Tuesday. As of Wednesday morning at 7 a.m., she had not yet conceded the race.
Trump pulled ahead Tuesday night with a major victory in the swing state of North Carolina and a projected win in Georgia that was later made official.
He then picked up other major battleground state wins in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Reaction to the news of Trump’s win is trickling in slowly. LPAC, the nation’s only organization dedicated to advancing the political representation of LGBTQ women and nonbinary candidates, responded.
“A victory for Trump and his racist, fascist and misogynist platform is not a victory for America,” said Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC. “Today, we mourn not only the loss of a true leader, but also the dream that Kamala Harris might be the first woman, the first woman of color, and the first South Asian person to serve as president of the United States. This is a profound loss for the country we believe in—a place where every one of us, regardless of who we are, is treated fairly and our fundamental rights are upheld.”
AIDS United expressed concern about the fight against HIV as a new Republican administration prepares to take over.
“Now, more than ever, we must act with urgency to ensure that President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice-President Elect JD Vance understand that critical services and resources that people living with HIV depend on are not to be compromised,” said Jesse Milan, Jr., president and CEO of AIDS United.
The Human Rights Campaign released a statement Wednesday morning by its president, Kelley Robinson:
“Like millions of other Americans, we’re heartbroken by the results of the presidential election, as well as the loss of other pro-equality champions across the country. We know our community is feeling scared, angry, and worried about what’s next for them and their families. We see you – there’s no question that we will face more challenges in the years to come in as part of our fight for full LGBTQ+ equality. But our ancestors taught us that resilience is our superpower. Make no mistake — we are not backing down. And we are going to continue to show up for each other and for the march toward progress — no matter what.
“Despite these disappointing results, we see undeniable proof of hope for the future. Sarah McBride, a trail-blazing champion for Delawareans, will be sworn in this January as the first ever openly transgender member of Congress. Julie Johnson, a dedicated fighter for civil rights and longtime HRC champion, will be the first ever LGBTQ+ member of Congress from the South. Emily Randall is poised to become the first Latina lesbian elected to Congress, and while many races are yet to be called, Senator Tammy Baldwin is on her way to returning to Washington alongside many other LGBTQ+ champions. Marriage equality amendments prevailed with overwhelming support in California and Colorado. And across the country, voters continued to pass ballot referendums protecting access to abortion in the face of an onslaught of misleading transphobic attacks–just the latest example that attacks on the trans community are political losers.
“For more than 40 years, HRC has been on the front lines of the fight for LGBTQ+ equality — one of the most powerful movements this country has ever seen. From Stonewall to the AIDS crisis to attacks against transgender Americans and our unwavering fight for marriage equality at the Supreme Court, the LGBTQ+ community has always persevered and defied the odds to make progress that once seemed unimaginable.
“The path ahead will be challenging, but we are prepared. We will use every tool at our disposal–from advocacy to education to litigation to campaigns–to protect our communities and advance progress where we can. We will build power by building each other up, with a dedication to forging a better path for our future. To every LGBTQ+ person feeling scared, I see you. I feel you. And I need you to hear this: You are not alone. You are loved. You are worthy. And you have an entire community standing with you, today and every day.”
Lambda Legal President Kevin Jennings released a statement:
“We won’t sugarcoat this – last night’s election results were incredibly detrimental to the cause of equality. There is no doubt that many of us feel scared, angry, and perhaps demoralized. And we are not naïve: we are entering a seriously dangerous period confronted by a new administration and at least one house of Congress that have made their hostility to our community crystal clear.
“Lambda Legal has been strategizing and planning for this possibility, and we will expend every energy to hold the line. We all know we have tough battles ahead. But we’ve overcome difficult odds repeatedly before and have won landmark victories throughout Lambda Legal’s fifty-year history. Lambda Legal successfully blocked multiple attacks by the first Trump administration, and we are ready to oppose any anti-LGBTQ+ actions this new administration takes.”
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued a statement:
“The LGBTQ community has been here before, as have all other marginalized communities, and the pain is real today. But as we saw from the Lavender Scare to the Stonewall riots, from the HIV epidemic to the defeat and victory for marriage, every breakdown can lead to a breakthrough. We must see this moment of crisis as another catalyst for change.
“Our community knows how to take care of each other, and how to push our country and world forward. The mission remains: Hold leaders accountable to We, the People. Empower each person to use their voice for progress with kindness. Correct the record. Shape culture. Change hearts and minds. Rise up for intersectional issues including racial justice, abortion and immigration. GLAAD was founded nearly forty years ago with the knowledge that LGBTQ people and our stories would create a better world. Our work has renewed importance and urgency. LGBTQ people belong and are essential to the promise of America as a beacon of equality and acceptance.”
PFLAG National President Brian Bond released a statement:
“Today, PFLAG’s hundreds of thousands of members and supporters across the country have witnessed a devastating result for people whose loved ones have been targeted for harm by policies, disenfranchisement and worse.
“Yet, just as the LGBTQ+ people, families and allies of PFLAG have always joined the march for freedom, we are united in this fight to protect and respect every member of our community.
“Despite the many setbacks and disappointments this election represents for our community, there are many historic victories for LGBTQ+ people, families and allies to celebrate. Sarah McBride will be sworn in as the first openly transgender Member of Congress, representing Delaware. With the elections of Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester to the Senate, that body has more black women members serving together than at any other time in history. Plus, California, Colorado, and Hawaii have enshrined marriage equality for same-sex couples in their state constitutions, and eight states, including Nebraska and my home state of Missouri, have ensured access to abortion.
“Our LGBTQ+ loved ones and families are scared right now. But make no mistake, PFLAG is not backing down from this fight. For over five decades, PFLAG has been leading with love to overcome dark efforts. We are uniquely able to meet this moment, to soften hearts, to change minds, and to support our community.
“PFLAG will continue to show up for our LGBTQ+ loved ones, from the state house to the courthouse, the schoolhouse steps to the steps of the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court. We’ve got this. We’ve got us.”
The Congressional Equality Caucus posted a statement on X: “Our fight for equality is a story of victories, setbacks, and our determination to keep moving forward. We will face this next challenge together, united in the belief that, in the long term, equality will win out & love will trump hate. We’ll never stop fighting for equality.”
National Women’s Law Center Action Fund President Fatima Goss Graves released a statement:
“This is the outcome that we feared and fought tirelessly to prevent. While it’s a dark day for our democracy, let’s remember that Donald Trump is not a king. He is not a dictator. He is one branch of our democratic government, and he and his administration can be kept in check so long as the people, our institutions, and those who hold power refuse to bow to his authoritarian tendencies.
“Millions of people in this country voted for a different future, one that protects reproductive freedom, expands affordable caregiving, and ensures our schools are safe and inclusive. These issues are core to people’s lives and the majority of people support measures that advance gender justice – you see that in the ballot measures that passed for child care and abortion access, you see that in the polling that shows overwhelming support for reproductive freedom, action on caregiving, and ensuring billionaires pay their fair share. Vice President Harris knew this, and she ran her remarkable and historic campaign in service of a safer, more equal, more free, and more just future for everyone in this country.
“Armed with insights from the Project 2025 agenda, we are prepared. We’ve navigated the challenges of a Trump administration before, and together, we will rise to face this one. The next four years will undoubtedly be difficult, but our staff remains steadfast in its determination to ensure that all women and girls have the opportunity to thrive, regardless of who holds the White House.”
The HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute released a statement by its president, Carl Schmid:
“The American people have spoken and elected Donald Trump and JD Vance as our next president and vice president. The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute will work with the new administration on furthering efforts to end HIV and hepatitis in the United States. With proper leadership, policies, and funding, we can end both these infectious diseases.
“In his 2019 State of the Union address, Trump announced that we would ‘eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years.’ This led to the historic Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative that increases HIV testing, treatment and prevention programs, including scaling up PrEP, which are drugs that prevent HIV.
“At the same time, his administration proposed cuts to other HIV and health programs and proposed to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, including its non-discrimination protections.
“Ending HIV and hepatitis cannot happen without a comprehensive healthcare system that includes robust private insurance, Medicaid and Medicare programs, upholding non-discrimination protections, and combating stigma and disparities. Healthcare access and affordability, particularly for prescription drugs, are critically important. We will continue to fight to ensure all payers provide the drugs people need at a price they can afford. Of immediate concern for the new administration will be ensuring that copay assistance patients receive to afford their drugs will count towards their out-of-pocket cost obligations.
“We look forward to working with President-elect Trump on ensuring that the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative is fully funded and expanded in order to fulfill the goal of ending HIV in the United States. In recent years, House Republicans have proposed to eliminate funding for the program.
“There will be many policy and funding decisions that the Trump-Vance administration must make and work with the new Congress to pass. We realize that we live in a divided country and not everyone shares the same priorities and views. However, no matter one’s views, these decisions must be based on science so that we can continue to advance the interests of people living with or at risk of HIV and hepatitis and others who live with serious and chronic health conditions.”
Rodney Croome, founder of Australian Marriage Equality, in an X post echoed the concerns of activists in the U.S.
“Australia’s LGBTIQA+ community will suffer from increased hate and from local politicians imitating Trump,” said Croome. “But the response to authoritarianism is not to retreat. It is to empower more voices, have higher expectations, create a more democratic movement and defend each other.”
Congress
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
‘Big Beautiful Bill’ now heads to the Senate

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted 215-214 for passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” reconciliation package, which includes provisions that would prohibit the use of federal funds to support gender-affirming care.
But for an 11th hour revision of the bill late Wednesday night by conservative lawmakers, Medicaid and CHIP would have been restricted only from covering treatments and interventions administered to patients younger than 18.
The legislation would also drop requirements that some health insurers must cover gender-affirming care as an “essential health benefit” and force states that currently mandate such coverage to find it independently. Plans could still offer coverage for transgender care but without the EHB classification patients will likely pay higher out of pocket costs.
To offset the cost of extending tax cuts from 2017 that disproportionately benefited the wealthiest Americans, the reconciliation bill contains significant cuts to spending for federal programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Human Rights Campaign criticized House Republicans in a press release and statement by the group’s president, Kelley Robinson:
“People in this country want policies and solutions that make life better and expand access to the American Dream. Instead, anti-equality lawmakers voted to give handouts to billionaires built on the backs of hardworking people — with devastating consequences for the LGBTQ+ community.
“If the cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP or resources like Planned Parenthood clinics weren’t devastating enough, House Republicans added a last minute provision that expands its attacks on access to best practice health care to transgender adults.
“This cruel addition shows their priorities have never been about lowering costs or expanding health care access–but in targeting people simply for who they are. These lawmakers have abandoned their constituents, and as they head back to their districts, know this: they will hear from us.”
Senate Republicans are expected to pass the bill with the budget reconciliation process, which would allow them to bypass the filibuster and clear the spending package with a simple majority vote.
Changes are expected as the bill will be reviewed and amended by committees, particularly the Finance Committee, and then brought to the floor for debate — though modifications are expected to focus on Medicaid reductions and debate over state and local tax deductions.
Congress
Gerry Connolly dies at 75 after battle with esophageal cancer
Va. congressman fought for LGBTQ rights

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia died on Wednesday, according to a statement from his family.
The 75-year-old lawmaker, who served in Congress since 2009, announced last month that he will not seek reelection and would step down from his role as the top Democrat on the powerful U.S. House Oversight Committee because his esophageal cancer had returned.
“We were fortunate to share Gerry with Northern Virginia for nearly 40 years because that was his joy, his purpose, and his passion,” his family said in their statement. “His absence will leave a hole in our hearts, but we are proud that his life’s work will endure for future generations.”
“He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless. He always stood up for what is right and just,” they said.
Connolly was memorialized in statements from colleagues and friends including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.), former President Joe Biden, and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
Several highlighted Connolly’s fierce advocacy on behalf of federal workers, who are well represented in his northern Virginia congressional district.
The congressman also supported LGBTQ rights throughout his life and career.
When running for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 1994, he fought the removal of Washington Blade newspapers from libraries. When running in 2008 for the U.S. house seat vacated by Tom Davis, a Republican, Connolly campaigned against the amendment to Virginia’s constitution banning same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state.
In Congress, he supported the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality, the Biden-Harris administration’s rescission of the anti-trans military ban, and the designation within the State Department of a special LGBTQ rights envoy. The congressman also was an original cosponsor of the Equality Act and co-sponsored legislation to repeal parts of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Congress
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill to criminalize gender affirming care advances
Judiciary Committee markup slated for Wednesday morning

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)’s “Protect Children’s Innocence Act,” which would criminalize guideline-directed gender affirming health care for minors, will advance to markup in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning.
Doctors and providers who administer medical treatments for gender dysphoria to patients younger than 18, including hormones and puberty blockers, would be subject to Class 3 felony charges punishable by up to 10 years in prison if the legislation is enacted.
LGBTQ advocates warn conservative lawmakers want to go after families who travel out of state to obtain medical care for their transgender kids that is banned or restricted in the places where they reside, using legislation like Greene’s to expand federal jurisdiction over these decisions. They also point to the medically inaccurate way in which the bill characterizes evidence-based interventions delineated in standards of care for trans and gender diverse youth as “mutilation” or “chemical castration.”
Days into his second term, President Donald Trump signed “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” an executive order declaring that the U.S. would not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit” medical treatments and interventions intended for this purpose.
Greene, who has introduced the bill in years past, noted the president’s endorsement of her bill during his address to the joint session of Congress in March when he said “I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body.”