04/24/25

Hey there,

💢 Out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk reportedly got into a screaming match in the White House last week that was so heated that an aide had to physically separate them.

❌ Republican lawmaker Nancy Mace has made a name for herself for spewing anti-LGBTQ+ comments, including transphobic slurs. We go over some of her worst moments.

🎉 The Department of Defense will resume providing gender-affirming care for transgender service members, according to a memo leaked to the media. The Defense Department is complying with a court order that found the restrictions on trans service members unconstitutional.

Onwards and upwards,

Alex Cooper

Editor-in-chief, The Advocate

P.S. Support The Advocate's journalism. Find out how here.

Defense Department reinstates gender-affirming care for trans troops

shutterstock creative

University of Louisville caves to anti-LGBTQ+ forces twice this week

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Trump AG Pam Bondi falsely compares gender-affirming care for minors as the same as female genital mutilation

SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty Images

12 batsh*t things Nancy Mace has done in her anti-transgender attention grab

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Meta Oversight Board rules anti-transgender videos don't violate hate speech rules

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images

What LGBTQ+ audiences should see at the TCM Classic Film Festival

Courtesy TCM Classic Film Festival

Disgraced Republican George Santos asks judge to ignore his posts while considering his prison sentence

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Blasphemy is coming to St. Peter’s Square as Trump tries to hijack Pope Francis’s funeral to feed his ego

EVAN VUCCI/AFP via Getty Images

'WWE in the West Wing:' Elon Musk got into a screaming match with Scott Bessent

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images; BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

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🌈 Look, a hint! 🌈

Each week, The Advocate newsletter has a little bit of LGBTQ+ trivia. Today, you'll get the question. Today, you'll get a hint. And Friday, you'll get the answer.

This week's question: The origin of the word lesbian comes from the name Lesbos, a Greek island, and home to which famous poet of ancient Greece?

This week's hint is: The poet's name is where we get the word "sapphic."

⚡ Respond with the correct answer, and you might get a shoutout in a future email newsletter!