In a stunning reversal of his long-standing reputation as a champion of LGBTQ+ rights, California Governor Gavin Newsom has aligned himself with radical right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ hate in the ongoing debate over LGBTQ+ rights— specifically with regards to transgender athletes in women’s sports
Today, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland blocked the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting gender-affirming care for individuals under 19. The preliminary injunction applies nationwide, marking a stark contrast to an earlier lawsuit filed by Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington, which only secured protections in those three states.
In his address to Congress on March 4, 2025, President Donald Trump defended his recent anti-transgender executive orders and criticized what he described as wasteful government spending on projects like «making mice transgender.»
Fact-checkers have refuted this claim, noting that the National Institutes of Health allocated approximately $477,000 between fiscal years 2021 and 2022 to studies involving feminizing hormone therapy in monkeys to assess its impact on the immune system and susceptibility to HIV; no funding was directed toward transgender research involving mice.
A federal judge in Seattle has blocked two executive orders from President Donald Trump that aimed to strip federal funding from programs “promoting gender ideology” and cut off research grants to healthcare providers offering gender transition care to minors. U.S. District Judge Lauren King ruled that the orders were discriminatory and breached the separation of powers between Congress and the president. The orders, issued in January, sought to eliminate access to puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgery for individuals under 19.
Photo: Demonstrators rally in support of trans youth at Seattle Children’s Hospital after President Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to deny federal funding for pediatric gender-affirming care on Feb. 8. (David Ryder/Reuters/Washington Post)
New York Attorney General Letitia James and 20 state attorneys general filed an amicus curiae or “friend of the court” brief supporting a lawsuit trying to block President Donald Trump’s executive order barring transgender service members. According to the brief, such a ban would weaken our military, damage public safety, and force New York to choose between fairness and security.
According to several sources familiar with the situation, more than a dozen other transgender women in federal prisons received word this week that they, too, would be moved to men’s facilities.
“Euphoria” star Hunter Schaferposted a video to her TikTok story in which she revealed that her renewed passport lists her gender as male following Donald Trump‘s executive order declaring the government will only recognize two genders: Male and female. Schafer is one of the most prominent trans actors in Hollywood thanks to her roles in HBO’s “Euphoria,” “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and Amazon’s upcoming “Blade Runner 2099,” among other projects.
According to a recent Gallup analysis, nearly one in ten U.S. adults now identifies as LGBTQ+, a significant increase driven by the younger generation and bisexual women. Additionally, 1.3% of all respondents identified as transgender, a notable rise from 0.6% in 2020.
Magic: The Gathering YouTuber Brian Lewis, known as Tolarian Community College, recently raised over half a million dollars for Trans Lifeline, a peer-led crisis hotline for transgender individuals. The fundraising event, which took place over the weekend, featured various Magic-related giveaways, with donations of $4 granting participants chances to win items ranging from cards to art prints and accessories. This year’s drive, which ended February 15th, was the most successful to date, raising over $564,000.
