ICYMI: Washington Post Article Outlines How a Second Trump Term Would Roll Back LGBTQ+ Rights and Freedoms

As Trump continues to center anti-LGBTQ discrimination as part of his campaign platform, leading civil rights organizations warn that a second Trump presidency could result in the removal of fundamental rights and freedoms for the LGBTQ+ community even for those who live in a "blue" state.

In a newly released Washington Post article, author Hannah Knowles dives into Donald Trump's second-term agenda and the potential impact his reelection would have for the LGBTQ+ community. The article highlights that in his bid for a second term as president, Trump has called for numerous restrictions for LGBTQ+ Americans including removing all federal protections based on gender identity and limiting access to medically necessary, potentially life-saving medical care for the transgender community. The impact of a second Trump term would expand far beyond the doctor's office given his ties to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations and his potential appointment of extremists judges, the consequences of Trump's election could result in a wide-reaching rollback of fundamental rights and freedoms.

"As horrific as the first Trump presidency was for LGBTQ+ Americans, a second term would be even worse," said Cathryn Oakley, HRC's Senior Director of Legal Policy. "Trump and his MAGA allies are not hiding the ball their plans and Project 2025 agenda would undermine fundamental protections for our community, from the doctor's office to the classroom, no matter what state you live in. That's why the Human Rights Campaign's Equality Votes PAC will ensure the 75 million Equality Voters come out to the polls and stop this agenda of bigotry and hate in its tracks."

Key excerpts from the article include:

• "The former president, who has shifted his position over the years on LGBTQ issues, is planning to lead the GOP charge on gender identity if he returns to the White House, according to his campaign and interviews with allies, testing the legal limits of federal action as the Supreme Court also takes up the issue."
• "[Trump] says he wants to kick providers out of Medicare and Medicaid for offering gender transition care to minors, such as hormone therapy and surgery; pull federal funding from schools if officials suggest a child "could be trapped in the wrong body"; and purge anything in the federal government deemed to promote transgender identity. The moves would go against the advice of leading medical groups."
• "The first Trump administration fought efforts to extend anti-discrimination laws to cover sexual orientation, and social conservatives are eager for Trump to pick up where he left off. Trump is also expected to try to appoint more conservative judges on the federal bench who could influence future landmark decisions on LGBTQ issues."
• "I think a lot of folks feel if they live in a so-called blue state, they're safe from whatever impact a second Trump administration can have, and that's just not true," said Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project. The Trump team, she said, is "saying what they would try to do." She added: "I think we should believe them that they mean it."
• "Pulling Medicare and Medicaid eligibility for health-care providers that offer gender transition care to youth could effectively halt most of that treatment across the country, experts said, building on laws restricting the procedures for minors in more than 20 states."
• "Some of Trump's proposals on gender identity such as a bill banning practices he refers to as "child sexual mutilation" would require a supportive Congress. Many others would rely on executive action. For example, Trump has promised to reinstate his first administration's ban on transgender people serving openly in the military"
• "Trump's 'Agenda 47' videos, which promote his policy plans, dwell on trans issues at length without discussing sexual orientation. But civil rights groups say they anticipate a second Trump term would be consequential for gay rights, as well."
• "In Trump's first term, multiple federal agencies quietly removed references to sexual orientation from anti-discrimination guidelines, and the administration argued in court against interpreting discrimination law to cover sexual orientation."
• "The 2022 Supreme Court ruling striking down the long-standing right to abortion and conservative Justice Clarence Thomas's suggestion at the same time that gay rights cases need reexamining has made the LGBTQ community nervous that other precedents could fall, especially if Trump makes more judicial appointments."

For more on the Trump Project 2025 agenda, visit DismantleProject2025.com, and watch our explainer videos online.

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign Equality Votes PAC (www.hrc.org).

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