Hello folks! Audience Editor Edgar Ramirez, back in your inbox on this Wednesday with a scoop from The Advocate's Christopher Wiggins.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat considered a possible contender for the 2028 presidential race, has made a rather eyebrow-raising move. As Wiggins reports, Shapiro has appointed Seth Grove, a former Republican lawmaker with a long record of opposing transgender rights and attempting to curtail civil rights enforcement, to the state commission charged with protecting Pennsylvanians from discrimination.
His appointment places a former legislator who repeatedly supported restrictions on transgender people inside the institution responsible for considering discrimination complaints from them, Wiggins writes. Pennsylvania law requires partisan balance on the commission, and Shapiro’s office defended the appointment. You can read their full statement here.
Still, the statement did not answer why Shapiro selected Grove specifically, or whether the governor’s office reviewed Grove’s record on transgender rights, among other questions Wiggins had.
Don't miss the full story here.
Until next time,
Edgar
Donald Trump’s assault on foreign aid shuttered 1,700 HIV care sites worldwide
Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
Parents say Idaho’s Republican-led anti-trans laws isolated their daughter before her death
Robert Seibel / Shutterstock.
Ohio teachers train colleagues to navigate anti-LGBTQ+ classroom laws
Photo illustration by Ben Jodway
Judge in trans military ban case demands Pentagon explain Hegseth’s testosterone double standard
Finn Gomez/Getty Images
Why did Josh Shapiro appoint this anti-trans Republican to Pennsylvania's civil rights commission?
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Trump administration caves to public pressure after avalanche of opposition to anti-trans hospital rule
Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Transgender teen quits Irish dance competition after threats from Florida Republicans
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Kiselev Andrey Valerevich/Shutterstock












Why did Josh Shapiro appoint this anti-trans Republican to Pennsylvania's civil rights commission?
Seth Grove repeatedly opposed LGBTQ+ protections and tried to reshape the civil rights system he will now govern.