News
Trans military ban ignored by reporters, White House at briefing
Blade again ignored during briefing
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White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah took no questions on President Trump’s trans military ban. (Image courtesy C-Span)
On the first White House news briefing after President Trump reaffirmed his ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military, White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah declined to address the issue, nor did any reporters from mainstream media outlets ask about it as part of their questioning.
The main focus from reporters on Monday during the 20-minute briefing, characteristically abbreviated for the Trump White House, was instead the “60 Minutes” interview Sunday night with porn star Stormy Daniels and the details she revealed about her alleged sexual affair with Trump. Other questions were about the U.S. expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats as a result of Russiaās apparent use of a military-grade chemical weapon in the United Kingdom, which killed a former Russian spy.
The Washington Blade was seated in the third row and had a hand up during the briefing, but Shah declined to recognize the LGBT outlet for a question. At one point, Shah looked directly at the Blade, but skipped the publication for another reporter. That’s consistent with the Trump White House record of virtually ignoring the Blade during the White House briefings.
Had the Blade been called on during the briefing, the LGBT outlet would have asked about the transgender military ban, which was made public late Friday night just as the weekend started at a time when media coverage was limited and the White House wasn’t taking questions on the issue.
At the close of the briefing, another non-mainstream media standing in the aisle sought comment from Shah on the transgender military ban by shouting out an inquiry. Shah looked at the reporter as he exited the briefing, but had no response.
The Blade followed up with Shah after the briefing by submitting two questions via email to him and other staffers in the White House.
Here are the questions:
1. Did the president, Vice President or anyone at the White House seek to influence the findings in the report from Secretary Mattis made public Friday?
2. Multiple courts have ruled prohibiting transgender service is unconstitutional. Isnāt the policy a non-starter?
Trump announced heād keep his ban on transgender service in the military following a report signed by Defense Secretary James Mattis recommending limited access to transgender people in the armed forces. The expectation is the policy will be unenforceable because six courts ā four trial courts and two circuit courts ā have determined barring transgender people from the U.S. military is likely unconstitutional.
National
House Republicans propose steep cuts in federal AIDS budget
Advocacy groups say move would eliminate āEnding HIV Epidemicā initiative
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The Republican-controlled U.S. House Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies approved a spending bill on June 26 that calls for cutting at least $419 million from federal AIDS programs that AIDS activists say would have a devastating impact on efforts to greatly reduce the number of new HIV infections by 2030.
The subcommitteeās proposed bill, which includes billions of dollars in cuts in a wide range of other federal health, education, and human services related programs, is scheduled to be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee on July 10. Officials with AIDS advocacy groups say they are hopeful that the full committee, like last year, will refuse to approve the proposed cuts in the AIDS budget.
The proposed GOP cuts would eliminate $214 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionās HIV prevention programs, $190 million from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, and $15 million from the Department of Health and Human Services Secretaryās Minority HIV/AIDS Program.
Activists say the impact of those cuts would kill the federal governmentās Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, which among other things, calls for reducing the number of new HIV infections in the U.S. by 75 percent by 2025 and by 90 percent by 2030. The activists point out that ironically the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative was launched during the administration of President Donald Trump.
āInstead of providing new investments in ending HIV by increasing funding for testing, prevention programs, such as PrEP, and life-saving care and treatment, House Republicans are again choosing to go through a worthless exercise of cutting programs that the American people depend on and will never pass,ā said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute.
āWhile we vigorously fight these cuts, we look forward to working with the entire Congress in a bipartisan fashion on spending bills that can actually become law,ā Schmid said in a statement.
Schmid noted that the bill also includes provisions known as āpolicy ridersā that would take away rights and protections from women, such as access to birth control and abortion, and for minorities, including LGBTQ people.
According to a statement released by the office of Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who is the ranking minority member of the House Appropriations Committee, one of the policy riders would āblock the Biden administrationās policies to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.ā The statement says another policy rider would āprevent policies or programs intended to promote diversity, equality, or inclusion.ā
Most political observers believe the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate would also kill the GOP proposed policy riders and cuts in the AIDS budget if the full Republican-controlled House were to approve the budget bill passed by the appropriations subcommittee.
Rep, Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who serves as chair of the full House Appropriations Committee, released a statement on June 27 defending the subcommitteeās bill and its proposed spending cuts. āThe bill provides appropriate and fiscally responsible funding to ensure these departments can continue to perform their core missions while also acknowledging the fiscal realities facing our nation,ā he said.
āImportantly, the bill pushes back on the Biden administrationās out-of-touch progressive policy agenda, preventing this White House from finalizing or implementing controversial rules or executive orders,ā Cole said in his statement. āIt also preserves long standing bipartisan policy provisions protecting the right to life.ā
Virginia
Man went on āhomophobic rantā inside Va. pub that displayed Pride flags
Suspect arrested on charges of public intoxication, assaulting police officer
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The Hawk & Griffin British Pub located in Vienna, Va., posted a message on Facebook last week saying a man was arrested after going on a āhomophobic rantā inside the pub on June 28 when he saw that LGBTQ Pride flags were displayed at the pub for Pride month.
āLast night we had an incident here at the pub when a man came off the street to accost patrons in our beer garden because of our flags displayed for pride month,ā the Hawk & Griffin Facebook posting says. āHe then spit on our windows and came inside to confront our staff and patrons with homophobic rants,ā the posting continues.
āOur manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested a man a couple of blocks away,ā the message says. āWe want to thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance,ā the statement concludes.
Vienna police charged Justin Wayne Hendricks, of no known address, with misdemeanor counts of being ādrunk in publicā and providing false identification to a police officer and with a felony count of assault on a police officer. A police spokesperson said Hendricks was also found to be in violation of an outstanding arrest warrant from Alexandria, Va., related to a prior charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The spokesperson, Juan Vazquez, said Hendricks is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Online records for the Fairfax County General District Court show that Hendricks is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9.
āOn Friday, June 28, around 9:28 p.m. the Vienna Police Department responded to reports of an intoxicated individual threatening customers of the Hawk & Griffin,ā a Vienna police statement says. āUpon the arrival of the officers the individual had already left the premises but was promptly located at an address nearby,ā according to the statement.
The statement adds that Hendricks was subsequently charged with being drunk in public, providing false information about his identity to police, and assault on a police officer along with being served with the outstanding warrant related to the prior charge in Alexandria of failing to register as a sex offender.
Details of the prior sex offender charge couldnāt immediately be obtained from online court records. However, the online records show that Hendricks has at least a dozen or more prior arrests between 2014 and 2023 on charges including public intoxication, trespassing, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Police spokesperson Vazquez said it would be up to prosecutors with the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealthās Attorney to determine if a subsequent hate crime related charge would be filed in the case.
Politics
HRC slams White House over position opposing gender affirming surgeries for minors
āBiden administration is flat wrong on thisā
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Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson issued a strong rebuke on Tuesday of the Biden-Harris administration’s position opposing gender affirming surgeries for minors.
The New York Times reported on June 28 that the White House, which broadly supports making medical interventions available for transgender youth, had expressed opposition to surgeries for patients under 18, having previously declined to take a specific position on the question.
āHealth care decisions for young people belong between a patient, their family, and their health care provider. Trans youth are no exception,” Robinson responded.
āThe Biden administration is flat wrong on this. Itās wrong on the science and wrong on the substance. Itās also inconsistent with other steps the administration has taken to support transgender youth. The Biden administration, and every elected official, need to leave these decisions to families, doctors and patientsāwhere they belong,” she added. “Although transgender young people make up an extremely small percentage of youth in this country, the care they receive is based on decades of clinical research and is backed by every major medical association in the U.S. representing over 1.3 million doctors.”
Robinson said the “administration has committed to fight any ban on healthcare for transgender youth and must continue this without hesitationāthe entire community is watching.”
āNo parent should ever be put in the position where they and their doctor agree on one course of action, supported by the overwhelming majority of medical experts, but the government forbids it,ā she added.
HRC is a prominent backer of Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign, having pledged $15 million to support efforts in six battleground states. The organization has a strong relationship with the White House, with the president and first lady headlining last year’s National Dinner.
A White House spokesperson declined to respond to Robinson’s statement.
Campaign for Southern Equality President Allison Scott also issued a statement.
āThis is a cowardly statement from an administration that promised to support transgender people. It is a troubling concession to the right-wing assault on transgender Americans, falling for their false narratives about surgical care and betraying a commitment to equality and trust in the medical community,ā said Scott.
āLetās be very, very clear: Government has no business inserting itself into private medical decisions that should be exclusively between patients, their providers, and the patientsā parent or guardian,” Scott added.
“It is dangerous to begin endorsing categorical bans or limits on healthcare, and there is no justification for restricting transgender youthās access to the very same care that many cisgender youth receive every year ā thatās literally the definition of discrimination,” Scott concluded. “We demand the Biden administration retract this thoughtless statement and work to undo its damage.ā
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