Donald Trump’s return to the presidency has begun with sweeping executive orders targeting the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and the environment. And on his first full day in office, the Episcopal bishop of Washington unexpectedly confronted the president, calling on him to show “mercy” to LGBTQ+ individuals and immigrants.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration eliminated all mention of LGBTQ and HIV resources from the White House. Other federal sites, including The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of State, and The Department of Labor, have taken down some LGBTQ-specific pages.
Terms including ‘Lesbian,’ ‘Gay,’ ‘Transgender,’ ‘Sexual Orientation,’ and ‘Gender Identity’ now yield zero helpful resources on the White House site.
The shift comes as no surprise to LGBTQ activists and community members. During Trump’s first few days as president in 2017, he similarly prioritized the takedown of LGBTQ-related federal webpages.
“[T]rump is clearly committed to censorship of any information containing or related to LGBTQ Americans and the issues we face,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis wrote in a statement Tuesday. “This action proves the Trump administration’s goal of making it as difficult as possible for LGBTQ Americans to find federal resources or otherwise see ourselves reflected under his presidency.”
After his inauguration Monday, Trump signed a total of 78 executive orders and actions to roll back protections put in place by the Biden administration, namely DEI initiatives and border and climate policies.
In a few of the most damaging decisions, Trump banned DEI initiatives in all federal agencies, removed Title IX discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students and revoked a Biden-era order allowing transgender people to serve in the military. He also reversed one of Biden’s largest protections for LGBTQ+ Americans, Executive Order 14075, which expanded access to gender-affirming care and banned conversion therapy.
“[Monday’s] actions are not only mean-spirited: many are unconstitutional. Our lawyers and policy experts are analyzing the proposed changes and their implications,” The Human Rights Campaign announced Tuesday. “Many of the executive orders contain directions that are inconsistent with existing law, with Supreme Court precedent and with the Constitution.”
The decision to revoke these essential protections not only sets the tone for the next four years to come, it also opens up LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities to discrimination, inequities, and abuse from federal organizations, workplaces, and schools.
During a prayer service at the National Cathedral on Tuesday, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde urged Donald Trump to show “mercy” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and immigrants. Speaking directly to the president, seated in the front pew with his family and the vice president, Budde highlighted the fears of marginalized groups, including LGBTQ+ children and immigrant families, and called for compassion and support.
It was quite the visual:
Budde’s message of compassion fell on deaf ears. Asked what he thought of the service, Trump later told a reporter it “wasn’t too exciting” and that “they could do much better.”