The Trump Administration’s Continuing Campaign Against Transgender People

by Harper Jean Tobin, Director of Policy

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Clockwise from top left: Gov. Sam Brownback, Judge John Bush, Bethany Kozma, and Charmaine Yoest.
  • Newly-confirmed district court judge John Bush, now perhaps best known for his homophobic blog posts
  • Senior Advisor for the USAID Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bethany Kozma, who has a long record of anti-transgender activism
  • HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Charmaine Yoest, who has repeatedly called transgender people “crazy,” used anti-transgender slurs, and said parents should worry about having transgender people around their children
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Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has overseen her agency’s gradual retreat from ensuring equal treatment for transgender students since February. Photo credit: TIME.com
  • In April, the Justice Department dropped its historic challenge to North Carolina’s anti-transgender HB 2 when it was replaced with a still-discriminatory “HB 2.0.” (LGBTQ North Carolinians are still in court challenging the new law.)
  • In May, the Trump administration announced a plan to roll back the historic regulations implementing the Affordable Care Act’s nondiscrimination provision. With last week’s stunning victory in the Senate against ACA repeal, Secretary for Health and Human Services Tom Price is doubling down on efforts to weaken the ACA by rolling back critical implementing rules such as those on nondiscrimination protections.
  • In June, the Department of Education continued its retreat from enforcing federal Title IX law to protect transgender students. In a highly unusual move, the Department withdrew its finding that an Ohio school district discriminated against a transgender girl. The Department gave no explanation for withdrawing the finding, which had been upheld by a federal judge.
  • In July, Education Department officials also signaled they are considering rolling back remaining guidance recognizing protections for transgender and other students against sexual harassment and violence in schools.
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Transgender soldiers Nicole Mancini, Derrick Davis, and Anastasia Burlile at Fort Irwin National Training Center, California. Photo credit: Transilient

We will keep watching, and keep pushing back.

While it is the courts, not the Trump administration, who decide what the law is, this “Discrimination Administration” sows confusion and promotes discrimination through its efforts to roll back the interpretation and enforcement of civil rights law.


Trans Equality Now!

A joint project of the National Center for Transgender…

National Center for Transgender Equality

Written by

We’re the nation’s leading social justice advocacy organization winning life-saving change for transgender people. Also at https://transequality.org.

Trans Equality Now!

A joint project of the National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund and the National Center for Transgender Equality. Also at ncteactionfund.org and transequality.org.

National Center for Transgender Equality

Written by

We’re the nation’s leading social justice advocacy organization winning life-saving change for transgender people. Also at https://transequality.org.

Trans Equality Now!

A joint project of the National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund and the National Center for Transgender Equality. Also at ncteactionfund.org and transequality.org.

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