Trump's actions on LGBTQ+ issues in Pride Month criticized as 'bullying' by advocates
The Trump administration kicked off Pride Month with actions that advocates say undermine the gains for LGBTQ+ Americans.
The Defense Department said it would rename a ship honoring a gay rights icon. The National Park Service tried to fence off an iconic park in a gay neighborhood in Washington, the host city for WorldPride. The FBI solicited tips on medical providers offering gender-affirming care. The president vowed to cut funds to California after it allowed a transgender athlete to compete in a high school track event.
Pride celebrations happened long before they were recognized by the federal government, commemorating the Stonewall riots in June 1969, a seminal moment in the birth of a national gay rights movement.
The federal government first honored Pride Month on the 30th anniversary of Stonewall in 1999 under President Bill Clinton.
Under the next two Democratic administrations, the federal government recognized June as Pride Month, raising the rainbow flag at some government buildings and highlighting the contributions of LGBTQ+ people. Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump did not recognize it. But this year, the Trump administration stepped up its position, giving the month a new moniker and trumpeting policies that advocates see as 'bullying.'
'These attacks on our community as we gather, both in protest and joy and love, will only energize our community and allies to be more visible and engaged,' said Cathy Renna, communications director, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund. 'The country knows this is bullying – plain and simple.'
More: Stonewall veterans sound alarm over Trump's attempt to erase trans history
Trump, like Bush, declined to issue Pride Month proclamations. However, this term, the president's rancor against policies that uplift LGBTQ+ rights appears amplified. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on June 3 that Trump had 'no plans' to recognize June as Pride Month. She added, 'The president is very proud to be a president for all Americans, regardless of race, religion or creed.'
Here are some of the recent actions the administration has taken in June.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the U.S. Navy to rename an oil tanker named for slain LGBTQ+ icon San Francisco leader Harvey Milk.
Milk, a civil rights activist and Navy veteran, is frequently cited as the first openly gay elected official in the United States. Milk was pushed out of the Navy in the mid-1950s because of his sexual orientation.
He won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. The following year, Milk was assassinated in City Hall along with the city's progressive mayor, George Moscone.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told USA TODAY Hegseth "is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos."
Stuart Milk, executive chair of Harvey Milk Foundation and nephew of Milk, said he was "heartbroken" to hear the Pentagon's recommendation.
"Harvey Milk's legacy is certainly enhanced and celebrated by a U.S. Naval Ship, however, his legacy will not be silenced or diminished by the renaming of that Naval ship," he wrote.
Jennifer Pike Bailey, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, called the move political.
'At a time when this country faces national security threats from all angles, it's a disgrace that our Secretary of Defense is wasting time and taxpayer dollars on a desperate attempt to divide our country and politicize our military,' she said.
On June 2, the Education Department announced the administration would honor June as 'Title IX Month' as it seeks to 'reverse' the Biden Administration rule redefining sex to include 'gender identity' and enshrining protections of transgender people.
Republican lawmakers roundly criticized the Biden rule when it was introduced last year, saying it would effectively force women to 'share bathrooms, locker rooms, and other private spaces with biological males' and allow people assigned male at birth to compete in women's sports, both arguments that have become prevalent among Trump administration officials.
'June will now be dedicated to commemorating women and celebrating their struggle for, and achievement of, equal educational opportunity,' the U.S. Department of Education announced in a statement.
The department also directed its Office of Civil Rights to launch investigations into the University of Wyoming and Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado for 'allegedly allowing males to join and live in female-only intimate and communal spaces.' The government appeared to be referencing transgender women and girls in both instances.
'Title IX provides women protections on the basis of sex in all educational activities, which include their rights to equal opportunity in sports and sex-segregated intimate spaces, including sororities and living accommodations,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.
Renna, of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, said renaming the month 'simply reinforces" the administration's "anti-trans agenda.'
On May 31, a 16-year-old transgender athlete competed and placed first in two events at the California State Track & Field Championship. Trump responded to the news with threats of 'large scale' fines in a post on Truth Social.
The event had two first-place finishers due to a new rule adopted by the California Interscholastic Federation, the state's governing body for high school athletics. The rule allows girls assigned female at birth to receive medals based on where they would have finished if a transgender girl had not competed in the same event. The rule only applies to young women.
"Biological Male competed in California Girls State Finals, WINNING BIG, despite the fact that they were warned by me not to do so," Trump wrote. "As Governor Gavin Newscum fully understands, large scale fines will be imposed!!!" he added, mocking Gov. Gavin Newsom's name.
Trump's Justice Department followed up, threatening legal action, saying that allowing the girl to compete was unconstitutional.
"Knowingly depriving female students of athletic opportunities and benefits on the basis of their sex would constitute unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause," the letter said.
The administration's actions have also targeted health care for LGBTQ+ youth.
On June 2, the FBI posted on X, asking the public for tips about medical providers who offer gender-affirming care to minors.
'Help the FBI protect children. As the Attorney General has made clear, we will protect our children and hold accountable those who mutilate them under the guise of gender-affirming care,' the post says. 'Report tips of any hospitals, clinics, or practitioners performing these surgical procedures on children.'
This outreach follows Trump's executive order Jan. 28 directing federal agencies to take action against hospitals that continue to provide care such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The order characterizes gender-affirming care for minors as 'chemical and surgical mutilation" and 'sterilizing' children.
Several hospitals, such as Denver Health in Colorado, said they had stopped performing gender-affirming surgeries for patients younger than 19, in the wake of this policy. Other facilities, such as the Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, said they were reevaluating their gender-affirming care programs for patients under 19.
'Health care for trans youth is just that – it's health care,' said Laurel Powell, director of communications at Human Rights Campaign. 'Threatening to weaponize the FBI against American doctors who are following medical best practice would undermine parents who just want their children to thrive.'
The U.S. Park Service announced on June 2 that it would close Dupont Circle park during the final weekend of WorldPride 2025 D.C. to prevent 'destructive and disorderly behavior."
WorldPride is a series of international LGBTQ+ Pride events to promote visibility and awareness. The event is hosted in different cities each year.
'This decision was based on a history and pattern of destructive and disorderly behavior from unpermitted activities happening in the park during past D.C. Pride weekends, including vandalism in 2023 that resulted in approximately $175,000 in damage to the historic Dupont Circle fountain," the Washington Blade reported.
The day after this announcement, Washington Council member Zachary Parker posted on X that, at his request, Police Chief Pamela Smith asked the park service to retract its plan. The park service agreed to rescind its request, he said.
A recurring target of the president's policies on Pride Month – and a steady drumbeat throughout his second term – is curbing young people from being out as transgender (preventing participation in high school track) and deterring adults from supporting them (investigating providers who offer gender affirming care).
He emphasized this on day one in the Oval Office, in an order declaring there are just two genders, male and female.
He repeated it at a White House gathering for Women's History Month, saying, "No matter how many surgeries you have, or chemicals you inject, if you are born with male DNA in every cell of your body, you can never become a woman, you are not a woman."
A report from the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, law school looked at the fallout from another early executive order of Trump's that imposed restrictions on transgender students in K-12 schools.
According to the report, Trump's policy restricts:
Use of preferred names and pronouns: Federal agencies can cut funding to schools that recognize trans students' preferred names and pronouns.
Access to shared restrooms in schools: The government can halt funding for schools that allow them.
Participation in sports: Schools can lose funding if they let transgender students play on teams consistent with their gender identities.
Privacy: Schools that don't out kids to their parents can lose funding.
LGBTQ+ education: Schools may be penalized if they teach about gender identity.
Punitive social and policy measures are associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes for LGBTQ+ people, the report says. The report highlights research on young adults that shows that trans students who participate in collegiate sports are less likely to experience distress, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
Trump is not an outlier historically, said John D'Emilio, a professor emeritus of history and women's and gender studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of books in the field.
"This isn't the first time there has been a hostile attacking response to the LGBTQ community," he said.
During the Lavender Scare of the early 50s, the federal government prohibited LGBTQ+ people from working for the federal government. The FBI investigated them and the military discharged them. In the 80s, amid the growing AIDS epidemic, President Ronald Reagan told reporters that gay men were a threat to the general population. In the 90s, under Clinton, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act and many states banned same sex marriage.
In every era, D'Emilio said, "These hostile, oppressive actions sparked a response from the LGBTQ community."
"It is too early to tell what the response to the Trump administration's actions will be," he said. "But history suggests that it will motivate and provoke a high level of organizing in response, mobilizing not only the community but its allies as well."
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's actions on LGBTQ+ issues criticized as 'bullying' by advocates
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