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Trump wins presidency

Easily claims victory in key battleground states, smashing ‘Blue Wall’

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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 Trumpā€™s win is trickling in slowly.  LPAC, the nationā€™s only organization dedicated to advancing the political representation of LGBTQ women and nonbinary candidates, responded.

ā€œA victory for Trump and his racist, fascist and misogynist platform is not a victory for America,ā€ said Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC. ā€œToday, 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 inā€”a place where every one of us, regardless of who we are, is treated fairly and our fundamental rights are upheld.ā€

AIDS United expressed concern about the fight against HIV as a new Republican administration prepares to take over.

ā€œNow, 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,ā€ said Jesse Milan, Jr., president and CEO of AIDS United.  

The Human Rights Campaign released a statement Wednesday morning by its president, Kelley Robinson:

ā€œLike millions of other Americans, weā€™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 whatā€™s next for them and their families. We see you – thereā€™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 ā€” we are not backing down. And we are going to continue to show up for each other and for the march toward progress ā€” no matter what.

ā€œDespite 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 attacksā€“just the latest example that attacks on the trans community are political losers.

ā€œFor more than 40 years, HRC has been on the front lines of the fight for LGBTQ+ equality ā€” 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.

ā€œThe path ahead will be challenging, but we are prepared. We will use every tool at our disposalā€“from advocacy to education to litigation to campaignsā€“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.ā€

Lambda Legal President Kevin Jennings released a statement:

ā€œWe wonā€™t sugarcoat this ā€“ last nightā€™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 naĆÆve: 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.

ā€œLambda 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 weā€™ve overcome difficult odds repeatedly before and have won landmark victories throughout Lambda Legalā€™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.ā€

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued a statement:

ā€œThe 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.Ā GLAADĀ 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.ā€

PFLAG National President Brian Bond released a statement:

ā€œToday, PFLAGā€™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. Weā€™ve got this. Weā€™ve got us.ā€

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. Weā€™ll never stop fighting for equality.”

National Women’s Law Center Action Fund President Fatima Goss Graves released a statement:

ā€œThis is the outcome that we feared and fought tirelessly to prevent. While itā€™s a dark day for our democracy, letā€™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.  

ā€œMillions 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 peopleā€™s lives and the majority of people support measures that advance gender justice ā€“ 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.  

ā€œArmed with insights from the Project 2025 agenda, we are prepared. Weā€™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.ā€

The HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute released a statement by its president, Carl Schmid:

ā€œThe 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 ā€˜eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years.ā€™ 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 oneā€™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.ā€

Rodney Croome, founder of Australian Marriage Equality, in an X post echoed the concerns of activists in the U.S.

“Australiaā€™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.”

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Congress

Protests against anti-trans bathroom policy lead to more than a dozen arrests

Demonstrations were staged outside House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) office

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Protest outside House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) office in the Cannon House Office Building (Washington Blade photo by Christopher Kane)

About 15 protestors affiliated with the Gender Liberation Movement were arrested on Thursday for protesting the anti-trans bathroom policy that was introduced by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and enacted last month by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning and social justice advocates Raquel Willis and Renee Bracey Sherman were among those who were arrested in the women’s bathroom and the hallway outside Johnson’s office in the Cannon House Office Building.

Demonstrators held banners reading ā€œFLUSH BATHROOM BIGOTRYā€ and ā€œCONGRESS: STOP PISSING ON OUR RIGHTS!ā€ They chanted, ā€œSPEAKER JOHNSON, NANCY MACE, OUR GENDERS ARE NO DEBATE!ā€ and “WHEN TRANS FOLKS ARE UNDER ATTACK WHAT DO WE DO? ACT UP, FIGHT BACK!”

Protests began around 12:10 p.m. ET. Within 30 minutes, Capitol Police arrived on the scene, began making arrests, and cleared the area. A spokesperson told Axios the demonstration was an illegal violation of the D.C. code against crowding, obstructing or incommoding.

Mace and her flame-throwing House GOP allies have said the bathroom policy was meant to target Sarah McBride, the Delaware state senator who will become the first transgender member of Congress after she is seated in January.

LGBTQ groups, elected Democrats, and others have denounced the move as a bigoted effort to bully and intimidate a new colleague, with many asking how the policy’s proponents would enforce the measure.

Outside her office in the Longworth House Office Building, the Washington Blade requested comment from Mace about the protests and arrests.

“Yeah, I went to the Capitol Police station where they were being processed, so I’ll be posting what I said shortly,” the congresswoman said.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) (Washington Blade photo by Christopher Kane)

Using an anti-trans slur, Mace posted a video to her X account in which she says, “alright, so some tranny protestors showed up at the Capitol today to protest my bathroom bill, but they got arrested ā€” poor things.”

“So I have a message for the protestors who got arrested,” the congresswoman continued, and then spoke into a megaphone as she read the Miranda warning. “If you cannot afford an attorney ā€” I doubt many of you can ā€” one will be provided to you at the government’s expense,” she said.

ā€œEveryone deserves to use the restroom without fear of discrimination or violence. Trans folks are no different. We deserve dignity and respect and we will fight until we get it,ā€ Gender Liberation Movement co-founder Raquel Willis said in a press release.

ā€œIn the 2024 election, trans folks were left to fend for ourselves after nearly $200 million of attack ads were disseminated across the United States,” she said. “Now, as Republican politicians, try to remove us from public life, Democratic leaders are silent as hell.”

Willis continued, “But we canā€™t transform bigotry and hate with inaction. We must confront it head on. Democrats must rise up, filibuster, and block this bill.ā€

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Politics

Trump nominates gay man for Treasury secretary

Hedge fund executive would be the second openly gay cabinet secretary

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Scott Bessent (Screen capture: YouTube)

President-elect Donald Trump nominated openly gay hedge fund executive Scott Bessent as U.S. Treasury secretary on Friday.

Once a prolific donor to Democrats and a protege of liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros, if confirmed Bessent would be the first LGBTQ official to lead the Treasury Department and the second gay cabinet secretary after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“Trumpā€™s selection of Bessent, who is also openly gay, married, and has two children with his partner, is also a reminder of President Trumpā€™s love and respect for LGBT Americans,” the conservative LGBTQ group Log Cabin Republicans said in a statement.

ā€œScott Bessent is a terrific choice to become the next Treasury Secretary and the Log Cabin Republicans applaud President Trump for his pick,” the organization wrote. “As one of the most brilliant minds in the financial space and a vocal supporter of President Trumpā€™s economic agenda, Bessent will be a strong asset to help President Trump put America back on the path to financial security and economic prosperity.”

Equality Forum, a national LGBTQ civil rights organization, which oversees LGBT History Month, noted the nomination of Scott Bessent in a press release, writing that he “is highly regarded by the financial community and founder of a global macro investment firm.”

Equality Forum Executive Director Malcolm Lazin added, ā€œIf confirmed, Bessent will be the highest ranking openly gay U.S. government official in American history.”

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Politics

Karine Jean-Pierre addresses anti-trans bathroom policy targeting Sarah McBride

HRC condemns the effort as ‘cruel’ and ‘discriminatory’

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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks at the White House press briefing on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Christopher Kane)

During a briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the controversy over House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) move to restrict access to single-sex facilities in the U.S. Capitol and House office buildings based on birth gender.

The new policy, which mirrors a proposal introduced by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Monday that was supported by other House Republicans including U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), comes as Congress prepares to welcome its first trans member, Sarah McBride.

Mace conceded that her bathroom policy was intended to target the Delaware state senator, who will represent the state’s at-large congressional district when she is seated in January.

“When I think about that question, I think about what the congresswoman-elect said,” Jean-Pierre told reporters, referencing a statement issued by McBride on Wednesday. “As you know, the president has a close relationship with and is very proud of her.”

She continued, “And what she said is ‘I’m not here to fight about bathrooms.Ā I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families.’ And we agree with her. We think that’s incredibly important: To focus on the American people” and her constituents.

Asked whether President Joe Biden has been in touch with McBride in recent days, Jean-Pierre said, “I don’t have a conversation to speak to,” adding that “as you know” the two spoke when the president made a congratulatory call to McBride on election night.

“He was able to call her and congratulate her,” the press secretary said. “I don’t have anything else to add, but I think her words speak volumes.”

McBride’s statement, published on X, reads in part, “Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them. This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasnā€™t distracted me over the last several days.”

Following Johnson’s introduction of the bathroom policy on Wednesday, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson shared a statement with the Washington Blade:

ā€œThis new cruel and discriminatory policy has nothing to do with helping the American people or addressing their prioritiesā€“itā€™s all about hurting people.

“It targets not just Rep.-elect McBride, but all trans and nonbinary people who work and visit the Capitol ā€” public servants who have been working in the Capitol for years but are now suddenly the subject of cynical political games.

Speaker Johnson has proven yet again that the Republican majority is more focused on culture wars than on the needs of the country.ā€

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