We’ve made it through another week, but we’re also another week closer to the impending second swearing in of Donald Trump. Leading up to the election, Republicans made plenty of noise about trans issues (while complaining about how much Democrats talked about them). Now that they’ve won the presidency, that noise has continued to dominate the headlines.
The two major stories this week surround Matt Gaetz’s nomination for Attorney General and the campaigns against Sarah McBride, including her federal bathroom access as she gets ready to be sworn in as part of the 119th Congress. In a week that included the Transgender Day of Remembrance, it’s been a rough week for trans people, replete with transphobic attacks. Here’s what you need to know from the week’s headlines.
Republicans are coming for Sarah McBride
With her win in November, Sarah McBride became the first out trans person to take a seat in the United States Congress. Faced with the prospect of working with a member of a demographic they’ve spent months baselessly vilifying, Republicans in the House have gone on the offensive. Marjorie Taylor Green has threatened violence against McBride if she uses a women’s restroom and Nancy Mace has led a charge to get her banned from women’s bathrooms in the Capitol. Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House, weighed in, refusing to call McBride a woman and implementing a trans bathroom ban.
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McBride released a statement noting her disagreement but agreeing to follow Johnson’s rules. McBride is in an extremely difficult and vulnerable position, and has highlighted that what bathroom she uses should not be a leading issue at this time. But members of the trans community have felt that her acquiescence to these rules makes them seem reasonable and puts other, less high-profile trans people at risk both on Capitol Hill and across the country. Their criticisms might have basis, as the same day that McBride made her statement, Mace unveiled a push for a federal bathroom ban which could affect airports, state parks, and other federal buildings, putting trans people at greater risk in even more spaces.
Texas has started the 2025 trans hate early
The last few years saw an explosion in the number of anti-trans bills introduced to legislatures, with 2024 holding the record at 668 bills. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 2025 is already looking like it might beat that record. On the first day of prefiling in Texas, there were 32 anti-trans bills introduced by Republican lawmakers. The bills include all of the worst things that we’ve seen in the past: Beyond bathroom bills, sports bills, and attempts to remove legal protections and definitions of trans identities, Texas is doubling down on its recent bounty bills as well.
A GOP Senator is trying to legislate trans identities away
Not all of the anti-trans nonsense happening on Capitol Hill is taking place in the House; some is being saved for the Senate. A GOP senator, Roger Marshall of Kansas, has brought forward a bill that would legally erase trans people. Claiming that he is an expert on gender because he has delivered 5,000 babies, the bill laboriously defines a wealth of terms with the sole aim of removing any space for legal definitions of transgender identities. The bill mimics a House of Representatives bill brought forward in July, and Marshall attempts to suggest that the Biden administration invented trans people. If passed, the bill would have impacts on Title IX discrimination protections and the ability for trans people to have ID that represent their gender correctly.
What to know about Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ cabinet picks
Trump’s cabinet picks have continued to be spectacularly disastrous with many of them seeming to have been picked from his favorite TV shows, regardless of actual knowledge or experience. And, of course, most of them have anti-LGBTQ+ backgrounds.
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Great choices all around
Trump has nominated Linda McMahon, the co-founder of WWE, as his Education Secretary. She is the chair of the America First Policy Institute, a group that is extremely right-wing (if the name didn’t give it away), and claims to oppose “radical gender ideology.” The president-elect also seemed worried that RFK Jr. might be lonely in his healthcare role and has nominated Dr. Oz to run Medicare. When not peddling misleading and debunked medical cures (such as colloidal silver), Dr. Oz has flip-flopped on trans issues and is now pushing misinformation about detransition rates and more.
And, of course, with Matt Gaetz withdrawing his nomination for Attorney General because all his sexual assault allegations were distracting from Trump’s transition, Trump has now nominated Pat Bondi for the role. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Bondi was one of Trump’s lawyers during his first impeachment trial. She has defended Florida’s ban on gay couples adopting children, and in 2014 she called same-sex marriage a “serious public harm.”
Los Angeles has become a sanctuary city
There is at least one small bit of good news to be found this week. While the need for it is depressing, Los Angeles has officially become a sanctuary city. A unanimous vote from the Los Angeles City Council passed a “sanctuary city” ordinance, meaning that queer youth who travel to the city for gender-affirming care will be protected.
And a smile
Sometimes, we need a reason to smile about something, and this week it’s that Walmart accidentally produced a line of gay holiday decorations. Creator ChezAidan noticed the line at Walmart, which features pairs of cardinals in holiday scenes. As Aidan points out, “I don’t think Walmart did their research on the difference between male and female Cardinal birds.” All the cardinals represented on the decorations are red, a trait unique to the males of the species, making the decorations a delightful selection of festive same-sex pairings for every Karen’s holiday display.
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Deck the halls… with gay Cardinal couplings.
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