Hi y'all,
Well, 2026 is off to a start...
🪖 LGBTQ+ politicians are generally condemning Donald Trump's military strike on Venezuela, an action he ordered without congressional approval, while also noting that now-ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was an oppressive leader who harmed his people. “Nicolás Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator, and Venezuelans have suffered greatly under his regime,” said out U.S. Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont. “That does not diminish the fact that President Trump has zero authority to use military force to remove the leader of another sovereign country."
👀 And speaking of Venezuela: George Santos, the gay former Republican congressman from New York, announced on Sunday that he plans to travel to Caracas “in the coming days to help with aid” for Venezuelans. Okay, George.
⚠️ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has opened an extraordinary administrative case against Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona — a sitting United States senator, a decorated Navy veteran, and a former astronaut — in a move that would allow the Pentagon to retroactively strip Kelly of rank and cut the military pension he earned over decades of service.
Onward and upward,
Alex Cooper
Editor in Chief, The Advocate
'Reckless and illegal': LGBTQ+ politicians blast Trump's military strike on Venezuela

Wiener: Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock; Baldwin and Takano courtesy subjects
Meet every queer athlete on the Olympic women's hockey team

Leila Devlin/Getty Images; Harry How/Getty Images; Leila Devlin/Getty Images
Fraudster George Santos claims he’s going to Venezuela ‘to help with aid’

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Mark Kelly defiant as ‘most unqualified Secretary of Defense’ Pete Hegseth targets senator’s retirement pay

Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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