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Sarah McBride’s strength on full display in Congress

Trailblazing lawmaker spoke at Politics and Prose at the Wharf on Feb. 12

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4 months ago

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U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) gives a victory speech in Wilmington, Del. on Nov. 5. (Washington Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)

Congress has been in session fewer than 30 days but already its first out transgender member has attracted more animus and admirers than a typical freshman in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In her first one-on-one interview with an out trans journalist, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) told the Washington Blade on Feb. 12 she seeks to emulate the example of another trailblazer who came face to face with hate and oppression as he broke barriers: Baseball icon Jackie Robinson. But she started with a caveat.

“I, in no way would compare what I’m going through with what he went through, what our community is going through, with what people of color have gone through in this country,” McBride said before making her point. “I think that Jackie Robinson, like so many trailblazers throughout history, understood the microscope that a ‘first’ is under, understood that strength is often in being dignified and graceful under attack.”

McBride, 34, was born two decades after Robinson died. She, like many of her generation, came to know the story of the first Black player in Major League Baseball from the 2013 film, “42,” starring the late Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford.

“And in that movie, one thing that is said to Jackie Robinson as he prepared to become the player with the Brooklyn Dodgers is that if you respond to a slur, they’ll only hear your slur. If you meet a punch with a punch, they’ll say you’re the aggressor. And I think that is true in a lot of circumstances, and it has informed the way I and others have conducted ourselves, I think, in the position of being a ‘first.’”

McBride spoke to the Blade following an event at Politics and Prose at the Wharf in D.C., to celebrate “Cleavage,” the new memoir by bestselling author Jennifer Finney Boylan. McBride served as Boylan’s interviewer, posing questions about the book, just as Boylan did for McBride when she promoted her first memoir in 2018, “Tomorrow Will Be Different.”

Both Boylan and activist Mara Keisling are models for the congresswoman, she said, in “the compassion and care and thoughtfulness and the calmness” that they exude in their approach to the work they do. McBride said she knew throughout her campaign and in now serving her constituents in Delaware that she would come under attack from the right, and that trans people in particular would feel just as wounded by those attacks.

“They’re going to throw things at me and my job will be not to give them a response they seek,” she told the Blade. “They will misgender me and my job will be not to respond in the way that they hope I will respond. And people seem to understand that in the abstract. I think it’s harder in the reality when you’re seeing it, because when you are a ‘first,’ people viscerally feel your highs, but they also viscerally feel the lows. And I think it’s understandable that when people see behavior toward me in Congress, they feel it themselves.”

“And so it hurts. And I get that. And I am sorry that that there is that effect.”

“But it doesn’t change the need for me to, I believe, not give them the response they need, they want, not incentivize that behavior by giving them that response,” said McBride. “And to give an alternative view of who trans people are to the public, because we have been caricatured by the right as self-obsessed, as hysterical, as the ‘pronoun police.’ And I think it is important for us to have a broader diversity of messages, messengers, and images of who trans people are.”

McBride was asked who inspired her to choose Jackie Robinson as a role model, instead of someone like Rosa Parks, the Black woman arrested in Alabama for refusing to give up her seat on a crowded bus to a white person. She cited the support of her parents, acknowledging that not every trans person is so fortunate.

“My journey coming out to my parents and walking with them to not only coming out publicly, but just this entire journey, I have seen the power of grace in opening hearts and changing minds and moving people,” she said. “My parents were wonderful from the start. I was very lucky from the start, but there is no question that they’ve experienced growth during the course of the last decade to 12 years since coming out.”

“And I think part of that has been because I’ve been willing to walk with them at their pace,” said McBride. “Sometimes I’m pulling them a little bit, but I’m always holding their hand. I’m always within arm’s distance.”

McBride is a widow, a life-changing experience that followed by four days the joy of being a newlywed. Her husband, Andrew Cray, a trans man, succumbed to oral cancer on Aug. 28, 2014. A decade later, she said Andy is never far from her thoughts.

“I think about it every day,” said McBride. “You know, he was both principled and pragmatic in the way he sought to create change. And I have always sought to emulate that and reflect that approach … Andy was my sherpa into change-making.”

A change in her own self-confidence followed her election to Congress, she said. As she struggled, she considered, “What would Andy do?”

“This has been the first time where I’ve wondered, I’ve questioned whether I’m hitting the right note, and what he would think. I think he would agree. I think he would approve. But I’ve struggled with it.”

But amid the struggle, McBride still finds joy.

She recounted a recent experience with a man she described as one of her late husband’s best friends, an advocate working to expand access to healthcare for the LGBTQ community.

McBride said he paid her a visit in her office on Capitol Hill, wearing a tie that had belonged to Andy. He provided validation that, she said, “Andy would have completely approved of what I have done and what I am doing.”

“What was amazing in that moment, as I was getting that validation from my friend and Andy’s best friend, was I thought I had lost my wedding ring. And it’s a miracle that I had been able to keep it for a decade,” she recalled. “I just came to the conclusion that I would never get it back and that it was lost for good. We’re having this conversation—and I talk with my hands—and I hit my purse and it falls over and the wedding ring falls right out. So, it’s this beautiful, beautiful moment.”

(VIDEO BY DAWN ENNIS)

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Congress

Senate parliamentarian orders removal of gender-affirming care ban from GOP reconciliation bill

GOP Senate Leader John Thune (S.D.) hoped to pass the bill by end-of-week

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5 days ago

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June 26, 2025

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Restrictions on the use of federal funds for gender-affirming care will be stripped from the Republican-led Senate reconciliation bill, following a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian on Tuesday that struck down a number of health related provisions.

The legislation banned coverage for transgender medical care through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, language that was also included in the House version of the bill passed on May 22 with a vote of 215-214.

The parliamentarian’s decision also rejected Republican proposals for a Medicaid provider tax framework, which allows states to charge health care providers and use the funds to support their programs, along with broader cuts to Medicaid.

Amid calls to override Tuesday’s ruling from Republicans like U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (Fla.), GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.) told reporters “That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done.”

He also acknowledged that the timing and schedule might have to be adjusted. Senate Republicans had hoped to pass the reconciliation bill by the end of this week, though this was not a legal or procedural deadline.

Dubbed the “one big, beautiful bill” by President Donald Trump, the legislation would extend tax breaks from 2017 that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest Americans and corporations. To cover the cost, which is estimated to exceed $4 trillion over 10 years, the bill would make drastic cuts to social welfare programs, particularly Medicaid.

Democrats are not in a position to negotiate across the aisle with Republicans holding majorities in both chambers of Congress, but for months they have been calling attention to the effort by their GOP colleagues to strip Americans of their health insurance to pay for the tax breaks.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 10.9 million people would lose their coverage, either through Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Some Republicans like U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) are pushing back against the deep cuts to Medicaid, arguing they would be devastating for many of their constituents and also to hospitals, nursing homes, and community health care providers in rural areas.

In a statement emailed to the Washington Blade on Tuesday, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) said, “Anti-trans extremists are attempting to use the full power of the government to hurt kids, and recent Supreme Court decisions in Skrmetti and Medina are enabling their quest.”

While today’s ruling by the Senate parliamentarian is a temporary win, I will keep pushing back on these shameful attempts to harm trans kids and their families for trying to live authentically,” said the senator, who also serves as ranking member of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee.

U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who is gay and chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, also shared a statement with the Washington Blade addressing the parliamentarian’s ruling:

“This ruling by the Senate Parliamentarian is a win for the transgender people who rely on Medicaid and CHIP to access the healthcare they need to live fuller, happier, and healthier lives—but the fight is not over yet,” the congressman said.

 “Republican Senators must abide by her ruling and remove the ban from the final version of Trump’s Big Ugly Bill,” he said. “Yet, even with this provision removed, this bill is terrible for the American people, including trans Americans. Every Equality Caucus member voted against it in the House and we’re ready to do so again if the Senate sends it back to the House.”

The Human Rights Campaign issued a press release with a statement from the organization’s vice president for government affairs, David Stacy:

“The fact remains that this bill belongs in the trash. It continues to include devastating cuts to health care programs — including Medicaid — that would disproportionately harm the LGBTQ+ community, all so the already rich can receive huge tax cuts,” Stacy said.

“While it comes as a relief that the Senate parliamentarian concluded that one provision in the nightmarish reconciliation bill that would have denied essential, best practice health care to transgender adults does not belong, we aren’t done fighting,” he said. “With attacks on our community coming from many directions, including the Supreme Court, we will work to defeat this bill with everything we’ve got.”


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Murkowski, Shaheen reintroduce Global Respect Act

Bill would sanction foreign nationals who commit anti-LGBTQ human rights abuses

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5 days ago

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June 26, 2025

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Then-U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman marches in the 2024 Budapest Pride parade that took place against the backdrop of the Hungarian government's continued anti-LGBTQ crackdown. The Global Respect Act would sanction foreign nationals who carry out human rights abuses against LGBTQ and intersex people. (Photo courtesy of Pressman's X account)

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on Wednesday once again introduced a bill that would sanction foreign nationals who carry out human rights abuses against LGBTQ and intersex people.

The two senators have previously introduced the Global Respect Act. Co-sponsors include U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

“Around the world, individuals who are part of the LGBTQ+ community are in danger for simply existing,” said Murkowski in a press release. “Hate and violence cannot and should not be tolerated. I’m hopeful that this legislation will establish actionable consequences for these inexcusable human rights violations, and create a safer world for all people — regardless of who they are or who they love.” 

Shaheen in the press release notes “the risk of personal harm for LGBTQI individuals for publicly identifying who they are or expressing who they love has tragically increased in recent years.”

“Human rights, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human rights, recognizes that global freedom, justice, and peace depend on ‘the inherent dignity’ and ‘the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family,” said the New Hampshire Democrat. “LBGTQI human rights are universal human rights. We must ensure that we hold all violators of those rights accountable.” 

The promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad was a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris administration’s foreign policy.

The current White House has suspended most foreign aid. The elimination of these funds has left the global LGBTQ and intersex rights movement reeling.

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Congress

Garcia elected top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee

Gay Calif. lawmaker vows to hold Trump-Vance administration accountable

Published

7 days ago

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June 24, 2025

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U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on Tuesday was elected top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee in a vote that signaled the conference’s overwhelming support for a newer voice on Capitol Hill who will play a key role taking on President Donald Trump.

With a margin of 150-63, the 47-year-old openly gay congressman defeated U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), alongside U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) who exited the race after the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee backed Garcia.

Serving only since 2023, the congressman has had a remarkably quick ascent leading up to his election this week as ranking member of one of the most powerful House committees, awarded a leadership position serving under House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) and selected as a co-chair of former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign.

Democratic members began jockeying for the top seat on the oversight committee this spring after the late-U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia stepped away amid news that his esophageal cancer had returned. He died in May.

Connolly last year fended off a challenge from one of the most well known House Democrats, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), though with a narrower margin that signaled intra-party tensions over whether leadership roles should still be awarded based on seniority.

Garcia positioned himself as a bridge between the two camps — a consensus candidate with executive managerial experience as the former mayor of Long Beach, Calif. At the same time, particularly since the start of Trump’s second term, the congressman has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of the new Republican regime.

In a statement on X Tuesday, Garcia thanked his colleagues and promised to “hold Donald Trump and his administration accountable.”

If Democrats win control of the House next year, the oversight committee will be able to exercise powers that are now available only to Republicans under the chair, U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), which include the authority to investigate virtually any matter across the federal government, to issue subpoenas, and to compel testimony.

In the meantime, Garcia on Monday promised that Democrats on the committee would “vigorously fight” Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s (La.) plans “to dismantle the Government Accountability Office.”

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