06/15/25

Hi there,

👏🏽 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth found himself on the defensive Thursday as California Democratic U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs used a House Armed Services Committee hearing to expose what she demonstrated is the hypocrisy of the Trump administration’s purge of transgender service members. Video of the takedown went viral.

🏛️ Seventy members of Congress are demanding that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforce protections against anti-transgender discrimination.

❌ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered flags to fly at half-mast to honor Pulse victims on the mass shooting's 9th anniversary last week. But unlike in previous years, he made no mention of the Latine and LGBTQ+ communities in his declaration. Forty-nine people were killed and 53 were injured; most of the victims were Latine and LGBTQ+.

Onward and upward,

Alex Cooper

Editor-in-Chief, The Advocate

P.S. Support The Advocate's journalism. Become a member today.

Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs exposes Pete Hegseth’s anti-trans hypocrisy during embarrassing House hearing

Courtesy Congresswoman Sara Jacobs; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Congress members demand that EEOC address gender identity discrimination

courtesy pictured

California sues Trump admin over threats to trans athletes

Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock; Kirby Lee/Getty Images

Pete Buttigieg outraged Trump admin crossed ‘reddest of red lines’ handcuffing senator questioning Noem

KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post via Getty Images; Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Largest trans survey ever finds the top reason transgender people stop transitioning is transphobia

Sabrina Bracher/shutterstock

LGBTQ+ immigrants face 'most immediate risk' of ICE raids in Los Angeles

Zin Chiang/picture alliance via Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fails to mention LGBTQ+ identities of Pulse victims on shooting anniversary

JennLShoots/Shutterstock

Gavin Newsom cut LGBTQ+ health funding. The CA legislature is set to restore $40 million

Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock

The road to Obergefell: Looking back on a decade of marriage equality

LightField Studios/Shutterstock

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