Latest news with #CivilRightsCode
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This longtime Republican governor will not seek re-election in 2026
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds will not seek re-election in 2026 after nearly 10 years serving in the state's highest office, teeing up what may be a competitive Republican gubernatorial primary in 2026. In a video announcement released on Friday, Reynolds thanked Iowans for their support throughout her political career and said she will not campaign for another term as governor to focus on her family. "Today, I want to share a personal decision with you; one that was not made lightly, but comes with a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude. After a lot of thought, prayer, and conversations with my family, I have decided that I will not seek re-election in 2026," she said. Reynolds began her political career in the Clarke County treasurer's office, before winning election as a state senator and later as the state's lieutenant governor. Head Here For The Latest Fox News Reporting On Iowa She has served as governor since 2017, when then-Gov. Terry Branstad was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as ambassador to China during President Donald Trump's first term in office. Reynolds was elected to a full term as governor in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. Read On The Fox News App "This wasn't an easy decision, because I love this state and I love serving you," Reynolds said in a video posted on social media. "But, when my term ends, I will have had the privilege of serving as your governor for almost 10 years." Reynolds said the work isn't over yet and is committed to "working hard for you every single day until my term ends," referring to her time as governor as the "greatest honor of my life." "This public service has been an incredible journey — one I wouldn't trade for anything, but as Iowans know, family is everything," she said. "Through the years, my parents and my husband Kevin, our daughters, and our grandchildren have stood by my side, supporting me through every challenge and every victory. Now, it's time for me to be there for them." Iowa Governor Signs Bill Removing Transgender Protections From Civil Rights Code Seasoned Iowa-based Republican strategist Jimmy Centers, who served in the Reynolds administration, said "her governorship is historic" for more than being the first female elected Iowa governor. "It's more than just her agenda; it's about what she accomplished as governor. She was bold. She went out and sold her vision and she got it passed," Centers told Fox News. Nicole Schlinger, a longtime Iowa and Washington D.C.-based conservative strategist who is well-connected with evangelical groups, said that Reynolds "has been a transformation governor." But Schlinger told Fox News that "Kim Reynolds has put a lot of things in her life on hold for the state of Iowa and if you're going to decide what you're doing for re-election in 2026, now is the time you're going to be making that decision." The Republican Governors Association (RGA) praised Reynolds for "her bold vision and conservative leadership" and said she "delivered transformational results for Iowa." Iowa, which was once a key general election battleground state, has turned red over the past decade, and RGA communications director Courtney Alexander said "we are confident that Iowa will continue to remain in Republican control." But the rival Democratic Governors Association (DGA), pointing to Trump's sweeping and controversial agenda during his first three months back in the White House, said that "even former RGA Chair Governor Kim Reynolds knows she can't defend her party's destruction of the economy and extreme, unpopular agenda for the next two years." DGA communications director Sam Newton argued that "in addition to leaving behind a failed record of corruption, gutting public education, and banning abortion, Gov. Reynolds has thrown the wide-open GOP field for governor into complete chaos. We look forward to holding Iowa Republicans accountable as this competitive race ramps up." Following Reynolds' announcement, there was instant speculation that Iowa attorney general Brenna Bird, who was a top surrogate for now-President Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign and who spoke at last summer's Republican National Convention, may make a bid to succeed the governor. Bird, in a statement posted to social media, praised Reynolds but added that she and her husband will "consider what this decision means for our future." "I appreciate the calls of encouragement I've already received. I am committed to continuing my work on behalf of Iowans and to support President Trump," she added. Among the Republicans who may also have an interest in potentially running in 2026 to succeed Reynolds in the governor's office in Des Moines are longtime state agriculture secretary Mike Naig; state House Speaker Pat Grassley, the grandson of longtime Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; and all four members of Iowa's all-GOP congressional delegation — Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Ashley Hinson (IA-02), Zach Nunn (IA-03) and Randy Feenstra (IA-04). Two other names that are mentioned are Matt Whitaker, who ran statewide twice in Iowa but who is known nationally for serving as U.S. attorney general for a couple of months during the first Trump administration and who is currently serving as U.S. representative to NATO; and state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, son of longtime Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann. Red State Moves To Defund County After Leader Vows To 'Interfere And Interrupt' Ice Deportations Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel, who has worked in Iowa politics for decades, noted that the Republicans have a "deep bench." When it comes to the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, speculation centers on Iowa state auditor Rob Sand, who is currently the only Democratic statewide officeholder in the Hawkeye State. Reynolds, pointing to Iowa's shift to the right in recent election cycles, said the GOP "will remain in great hands" as the next generation of Iowa Republicans build on her legacy. Reynolds saw her national profile rise in recent years, through her previous tenure as RGA chair and by welcoming Republican presidential candidates to Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, which remain the lead-off contest in the race for the White House on the GOP calendar. In the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Reynolds' endorsement was coveted by the crowded GOP primary field. Reynolds ultimately endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and joined him repeatedly on the campaign trail in the lead-up to the article source: This longtime Republican governor will not seek re-election in 2026
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trans airmen, Space Force personnel have until March 26 to resign under Trump order: Memo
The Pentagon is urging transgender military personnel in the Air Force and Space Force to "separate voluntarily" by the end of the month, saying that individuals with gender dysphoria are "incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service." Troops have until March 26 to resign, according to a memorandum filed Sunday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as part of Talbott v. Trump – one of the first lawsuits filed against President Donald Trump's executive order barring transgender troops from the military – by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. "Service members eligible for voluntary separation pay will be paid at a rate that is twice the amount for which the service member would have been eligible under involuntary separation pay," the memo, signed by Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Gwendolyn R. DeFilippi on March 1, states. Pentagon Says Transgender Troops Are Disqualified From Service Without An Exemption Cross-sex hormone treatments will continue for service members who have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria that began prior to a separate memo issued last week until the "separation is complete" by direction of a Department of Defense medical provider "in order to prevent further complications." However, transgender service members are required to adhere to conduct matching their biological sex, "effective immediately," including in showers, bathrooms and living quarters, until their withdrawal is completed. Physical dress and fitness standards must also match service members' biological sex, the memorandum states. Read On The Fox News App Last week's internal Pentagon memo states that service members who are transgender or otherwise exhibit gender dysphoria are prohibited from military service unless they obtain an exemption. Iowa Governor Signs Bill Removing Transgender Protections From Civil Rights Code "The Air Force memo is consistent with this purge of highly accomplished, dedicated transgender service members," attorney Jennifer Levi of Glad Law told Fox News Digital in a statement Monday. "It is shameful. The memo also demonstrates the chaos and havoc being wreaked by this administration in ways that undermine our national security." The Trump administration's transgender military ban is currently facing legal challenges, and the Justice Department filed a complaint against the presiding judge, Ana Reyes, accusing her of potential bias and misconduct. There are currently a handful of lawsuits specifically challenging Trump's gender-related executive orders. Hiding Kids' 'Gender Identity' From Parents Is Common In Blue State Fighting Trump On Trans Issues: Watchdog Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Defense and White House for article source: Trans airmen, Space Force personnel have until March 26 to resign under Trump order: Memo
CBS News
01-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Iowa governor signs bill ending transgender rights protections despite large protests
Des Moines, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation to remove gender identity protections from the state's civil rights code on Friday. In a statement released by her office after the bill was signed, Reynolds – a Republican and first woman to hold the governor's office in Iowa — said the Civil Rights Code blurred the biological line between the sexes and forced Iowa taxpayers to pay for gender reassignment surgeries. She said it was "unacceptable to me, and it is unacceptable to most Iowans," saying the bill simply brings the state in line with the federal Civil Rights Code. "We all agree that every Iowan, without exception, deserves respect and dignity. We are all children of God, and no law changes that," Reynolds said in the statement. "What this bill does accomplish is to strengthen protections for women and girls, and I believe that is the right thing to do." Iowa lawmakers became the first in the nation to approve legislation removing gender identity protections from the state's civil rights code Thursday, despite massive protests by opponents who say it could expose transgender people to discrimination in numerous areas of life. The measure raced through the legislative process after first being introduced last week. The state Senate was first to approve the bill on Thursday, on party lines, followed by the House less than an hour later. Five House Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against it. The bill would remove gender identity as a protected class from the state's civil rights law and explicitly define female and male, as well as gender, which would be considered a synonym for sex and "shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role." The measure would be the first legislative action in the U.S. to remove nondiscrimination protections based on gender identity, said Logan Casey, director of policy research at the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank. The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed earlier policies banning sports participation and public bathroom access for transgender students. A spokesperson for Reynolds declined to comment on whether she would sign the bill. If she does, it will go into effect on July 1. Hundreds of LGBTQ+ advocates streamed into the Capitol rotunda on Thursday waving signs reading "Trans rights are human rights" and chanting slogans including "No hate in our state!" There was a heavy police presence, with state troopers stationed around the rotunda. Of the 167 people who signed up to testify at a 90-minute public hearing before a House committee, all but 24 were opposed to the bill. Protesters who watched the vote from the House gallery loudly booed and shouted "Shame!" as the chamber adjourned. Many admonished Iowa state Rep. Steven Holt, who floor managed the bill and fiercely defended it before it passed. Supporters of the change say the current law incorrectly codified the idea that people can transition to another gender and granted transgender women access to spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams that should be protected for people who were assigned female at birth. Holt said the inclusion of gender identity in the civil rights codes threatens what he called "commonsense" laws to ban transgender participation in sports and access to bathrooms. "The legislature of Iowa for the future of our children and our culture has a vested interest and solemn responsibility to stand up for immutable truth," Holt said. The Iowa lawmakers' actions came as the Georgia House backed away from removing gender protections from the state's hate crimes law, which was passed in 2020 after the death of Ahmaud Arbery. Iowa's current civil rights law protects against discrimination based on race, color, creed, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or disability status. Sexual orientation and gender identity were not originally included in the state's Civil Rights Act of 1965. They were added by the Democratic-controlled Legislature in 2007, also with the support of about a dozen Republicans across the two chambers. Iowa state Rep. Aime Wichtendahl was the last Democrat to speak out Thursday against the bill removing those protections, becoming emotional as she offered her personal story as a transgender woman, saying: "I transitioned to save my life." "The purpose of this bill and the purpose of every anti-trans bill is to further erase us from public life and to stigmatize our existence," Wichtendahl said. "The sum total of every anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bill is to make our existence illegal." When she finished speaking, she got a standing ovation from many legislators and onlookers in the gallery, reports CBS Des Moines affiliate KCCI-TV. The station said that after the Senate passed the bill, a man started yelling from the gallery, calling lawmakers "fascists" and asking "Who's next?" Three state troopers carried him out. Others who were yelling were also removed. About half of U.S. states include gender identity in their civil rights code to protect against discrimination in housing and public places, such as stores or restaurants, according to the Movement Advancement Project. Some additional states do not explicitly protect against such discrimination but it is included in legal interpretations of statutes. Iowa's Supreme Court has expressly rejected the argument that discrimination based on sex includes discrimination based on gender identity. Several Republican-led legislatures are pushing to enact more laws this year creating legal definitions of male and female based on the reproductive organs at birth following an executive order from President Trump. He also signed orders laying the groundwork for banning transgender people from military service and keeping transgender girls and women out of girls and women's sports competitions, among other things. Most of the policies are being challenged in court. On Thursday night, Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social site: "Iowa, a beautiful State that I have won BIG every time, has a Bill to remove Radical Gender Ideology from their Laws. Iowa should follow the lead of my Executive Order, saying there are only two genders, and pass this Bill — AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Thank you Iowa!"
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa governor signs nation's first bill removing transgender civil rights protections
Iowa became the first state to strike anti-discrimination protections for transgender people from its civil rights code on Friday after the state's Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed hotly contested legislation into law. The bill, introduced last week, sped through the Legislature despite widespread opposition from Democrats and LGBTQ rights advocates who flooded the statehouse in Des Moines to protest its passage. Iowa's Republican-led Senate passed the measure Thursday in a 33-15 vote along party lines, and the state House voted 60-36 to approve the bill later in the evening. It will take effect July 1. Senate File 418 removes gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act, the decades-old law protecting Iowans from employment, housing, education and public accommodations discrimination. A bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers added protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in 2007 when Democrats controlled both chambers of the legislature and the governor's office. President Trump, who signed an executive order during his first hours back in office proclaiming the federal government would recognize only two sexes, male and female, had pushed for the state to eliminate the protections for transgender people. In explaining her approval of the bill, Reynolds said, 'It is common sense to acknowledge the obvious biological differences between men and women. In fact, it is necessary to secure genuine equal protection for women and girls.' 'But unfortunately, these commonsense protections were at risk because, before I signed this bill, the Civil Rights Code blurred the biological line between the sexes,' Reynolds said in a signing statement, which she read aloud on her Facebook page. 'It has also forced Iowa taxpayers to pay for gender reassignment surgeries. That is unacceptable to me, and it is unacceptable to most Iowans.' 'I know this is a sensitive issue for some, many of whom have heard misinformation about what this bill does,' she said. 'The truth is that it simply brings Iowa in line with the federal Civil Rights Code, as well as most states. We all agree that every Iowan, without exception, deserves respect and dignity. We are all children of God, and no law changes that.' More than half the nation does not have explicit statewide laws protecting people from discrimination based on gender identity, though federal law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment. State Democrats and Republicans clashed Thursday during floor debates on the bill, which GOP lawmakers said was necessary to enforce state laws against transgender athletes and bathroom access. State Rep. Steven Holt, the Republican who introduced the original House bill, said adding gender identity protections to Iowa's civil rights code had 'elevated' the rights of transgender people above those of cisgender women and girls. Iowa Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, a Democrat and the state's first openly transgender lawmaker, said the measure deprives trans people 'of our life, liberty, and our pursuit of happiness.' 'The purpose of this bill, the purpose of every anti-trans bill, is to further erase us from public life and to stigmatize our existence,' she said. Max Mowitz, executive director of One Iowa, a state LGBTQ rights group, said Reynolds, by signing the bill, 'has chosen to put Iowa on the wrong side of history.' 'This law sends a devastating message: that transgender Iowans are not worthy of the same rights, dignity, and protections as their neighbors,' Mowitz said Friday in a statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa bill ending transgender protections heads to governor's desk
A bill that would repeal civil rights protections for transgender Iowans has passed the state House and Senate and is on its way to be signed by Governor Kim Reynolds. Tyler Mitchell, Director of Development at The Project of the Quad Cities spoke with Our Quad Cities News via Zoom to discuss the ramifications of HSB 242/SF 418. 'To my knowledge, it has not yet been signed,' Mitchell said. 'However, we anticipate that it will be signed at some point, probably relatively soon.' He explained why protestors have been demonstrating against the proposed law. 'This bill is dangerous for a number of different reasons. Iowa would become the first state in the entire country to remove a protected class from its Civil Rights Code. By doing so, we are essentially taking away equal treatment and protection under the law for transgender and nonbinary Iowans. This is a huge and significant deal.' Mitchell is concerned that the impact of the bill might not be immediately visible. 'The trans community in the state of Iowa is relatively small. Nonetheless, this impacts people's lives in a negative way. It might not be an impact that we'll see tomorrow or even the day after. Certainly, within the next year or so, I can see certain things coming to fruition.' 'It is a removal of a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Code. What this can impact for people are certain protections, access to housing, employment opportunities, very much sort of cutting off the core freedoms that all of us should be able to experience, and all the opportunities that every Iowan, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, whoever they might be, should experience. Every Iowan should have access to those opportunities.' 'It is really important that we as a community make our voices heard. Letting the governor know at this moment, that is really the last hoop that this bill has to go through. So, our last chance really to stop this bill is to appeal to Governor Reynolds, to say to her that Iowa should not be the state whose reputation will be known as the first to remove a protected class from its Civil Rights Code.' Iowa became one of the first states to legalize same sex marriages, after a unanimous ruling by the state Supreme Court in 2009. 'We were known for being one of the first (states) to pass marriage equality,' he said. 'We added sexual orientation and gender identity to our Iowa Civil Rights Code. These were really important steps that we took, and now we're starting to see some of that unravel.' Mitchell says that no matter what happens to the bill, LGBTQ+ residents in the Quad Cities will still have services. 'Here at The Project of the Quad Cities, we serve people who identify as transgender and nonbinary. We provide LGBTQ+ healthcare services like behavioral health, STI and HIV screenings and primary care. There are so many things that go into healthcare and support for LGBTQ+ people. We want that community to know, in particular, here in the Quad Cities that we are still here, our doors are open, and we want people to access services with us.' He says that despite the insecurity in society, it's more important than ever for people to stick together. 'I would just say, right now, there is so much uncertainty. I think we can take comfort in community and in being together and in supporting one another. As the LGBTQ community continues to experience attacks, in particular trans people, it is important that the entire community, all people in the LGBTQ+ community, come together to stand up for trans and nonbinary individuals who are being impacted by this legislation. We have to come together as a community, and we're calling on our allies to join us.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
