News
Rand Paul blasts letting transgender kids in school sports as ‘bizarre’
But Biden education pick holds firm on trans-inclusive access
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), questioning President Biden’s pick for education secretary on Wednesday, lambasted the inclusion of transgender kids in school sports as “bizarre,” falsely claiming non-discrimination policies in education would amount to allowing boys to compete in girls’ athletics.
Paul brought up the issue with Education Secretary-designate Miguel Cardona during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, decrying policies against anti-trans discrimination he said would put girls at a disadvantage.
“Frankly, some boy that’s 6’2″ competing against my 5’4″ niece doesn’t sound very fair,” Paul said. “I think most people in the country think it’s bizarre. It’s just completely bizarre and unfair that people, and you’re going to run the Department of Education, you’re going to run the Department of Education and got no problem with it. That concerns me.”
Paul was responding to the initial comment on the issue from Cardona, who sought to address Paul’s inquiry respectfully while insisting transgender kids should have full access to school activities.
“I recognize and appreciate the concerns and the frustrations that are expressed,” Cardona said. “I’ve as commissioner of education have had conversations with families who have felt the way you just described and families of students who are transgender, so I understand that this is a challenge.”
Pressed by Paul on whether it’s “fair to have boys running in the girls track meet,” Cardona held firm.
“I think it’s appropriate for — I think it’s the legal responsibility of schools to allow students to participate in activities and this includes students who are transgender,” Cardona said.
Paul, however, wasn’t satisfied and said “this kind of thing is going to lead to just the vast majority of Americans just wondering who are these people that think it’s OK.”
“From what planet are you from to think it’s OK for boys to compete with girls in a track meet and that somehow would be fair?” Paul said. “I wonder where feminists are on this. I wonder where the people who supported women’s sports are on this. Are we all going to be OK with hulking 6’4″ guys wrestling against girls? It just makes no sense whatsover. And so, I think the fact that you seem to be afraid to answer the question — or basically do answer the question by saying it’s OK without saying it’s OK is a statement to a real problem we have and a disconnect what Middle America and what most Americans actually believe.”
Just before concluding his time for questioning, Paul suggested Cardona’s response alone would be enough to vote “no” on him as education secretary.
“I’m disappointed in the answer and just can’t imagine we’re going to have a policy like that nationally,” Paul said.
The questioning comes the heels of an executive order Biden signed on his first day in office calling on federal agencies to implement the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which found anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of a sex discrimination. The text of the order includes language asserting children should have access to bathrooms, locker rooms and sports free from discrimination, signaling to the Department of Education should provide for trans-inclusion in schools.
Lucas Acosta, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, criticized Paul for his remarks in a statement as spreading misinformation harmful to transgender kids.
“Transgender girls are girls – plain and simple,” Acosta said. “There are thousands of issues facing students across the country during the pandemic, from reopening schools and restarting in-person learning to addressing and protecting the mental health of our children. Yet, despite all of those pressing crises, Sen. Rand Paul chose to exclusively use all of his allotted time to attack transgender children: misgendering, spewing misinformation, and insinuating malintent among children who are just seeking to participate in sports.”
Meanwhile, states are advancing legislation that would biological boys from competing with girls in schools sports, essentially attempting to block transgender kids from participating. Legislation along those lines has advanced in Montana, South Dakota and Mississippi.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
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.
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Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
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