Donald Trump's anti-LGBTQ+ cabinet: An in-depth look

The second Trump administration has brought back some familiar faces — and installed new ones with track records hostile to LGBTQ+ lives. While a few appointees offer symbolic breakthroughs, the vast majority either ignore LGBTQ+ rights or have worked to dismantle them outright. These are the people in charge of your health care, shelter access, military service, workplace rights, and safety.

Here’s where each stands.

Secretary of State: Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio has spent years undermining LGBTQ+ equality. As a Florida Republican U.S. Senator, he opposed marriage rights, voted against queer protections, and courted far-right groups — even speaking at a post-Pulse rally hosted by a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group. Now, as the nation’s top diplomat, he’s erasing gender-nonconforming people from the record.

Under Rubio’s leadership, LGBTQ+ content was scrubbed from the State Department’s annual human rights report. Rubio’s international influence could harm queer people worldwide — especially activists under repressive regimes who once looked to the U.S. for support. Instead, they’ll find a secretary who’s made LGBTQ+ invisibility policy. Rubio issued new guidance that U.S. passports would no longer be issued according to gender identity. Under the policy, identity documents and visas must be issued according to the sex assigned at birth. However, a federal judge recently issued an injunction against it.

Secretary of the Treasury: Scott Bessent

Scott Bessent made history as the first out gay cabinet secretary confirmed under a Republican president. But since taking office, Bessent, a billionaire, has stayed silent on LGBTQ+ matters. A former hedge fund executive and investment chief for George Soros, he’s said nothing about queer poverty, economic discrimination, or the systemic financial hurdles LGBTQ+ people face. “The LGBTQ+ community is counting on openly LGBTQ+ nominees like Scott Bessent to step up for the community,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said after his nomination.

Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth

Pete Hegseth isn’t just rolling back LGBTQ+ rights in the military — he’s leading the purge. The former Fox News host and Trump loyalist has made it his mission to ban transgender service entirely. He ordered commanders to flag troops for medical review if they’re suspected of being trans and pushed to rewrite records to reflect their gender assigned at birth. Hegseth recently called trans people “dudes in dresses.” Now he commands the Pentagon. For queer troops, the message is unmistakable: Your service doesn’t matter here — your erasure does.

Attorney General: Pam Bondi

Pam Bondi has long positioned herself as a defender of “traditional values,” but her record on LGBTQ+ rights is steeped in hostility and contradiction. As Florida attorney general, she fought to uphold the state’s same-sex marriage ban — calling adoption by LGBTQ+ people a “serious public harm” — and defended a now-overturned law barring gay couples from adopting. She later praised Florida’s “don’t say gay” law and even equated LGBTQ+ identity to “bringing a heroin needle to school,” according to a January minority report from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

That same report condemned her record as “unreliable and inconsistent” on civil rights enforcement and highlighted her praise for discriminatory laws. With federal oversight of hate crimes, school policy, and housing discrimination now under her control, LGBTQ+ advocates fear a new era of selective justice — one where “religious liberty” is weaponized and queer people are sidelined by design.

Secretary of the Interior: Doug Burgum

Doug Burgum once condemned anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in his own party — but when it came time to govern, he folded. As North Dakota governor, he signed law after law targeting trans youth, banning gender-affirming care and sports participation. Now he controls federal land, Indigenous policy, and environmental enforcement — all areas with an impact on LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit communities. His moderate image masks a dangerous pattern: quiet cooperation with anti-trans crusaders.

Secretary of Agriculture: Brooke Rollins

Brooke Rollins isn’t just overseeing school lunch programs — she’s using the Department of Agriculture to target transgender students. In March, Rollins sent a formal letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom threatening a review of federal funding over the state’s protections for students’ gender identity. Citing “radical transgender ideology,” the Department of Agriculture pledged to support a federal investigation into California’s compliance with FERPA, a 1974 law meant to safeguard students’ education records, accusing the state of violating parental rights by protecting trans youth from forced disclosure.

This isn’t new. Rollins previously led the America First Policy Institute, where she pushed to defund schools affirming trans students and opposed inclusive curricula. Now, with control over rural development, school food access, and youth grants, she’s turning anti-trans rhetoric into federal enforcement policy.

Secretary of Commerce: Howard Lutnick

Howard Lutnick has no known history with LGBTQ+ issues — and that’s part of the problem. As former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick enters the cabinet with zero public statements on queer rights and no record of support for inclusive economic policies. The Commerce Department touches everything from small business grants to what was previously DEI enforcement in federal contracts.

Secretary of Labor: Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Before joining Trump’s cabinet, Lori Chavez-DeRemer built her brand as a suburban moderate — former mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon, then a one-term U.S. Representative from the state. But her record tells a different story. She cosponsored the national Parents’ Bill of Rights, a policy that would force schools to out transgender students and ban inclusive educational materials. Now, as labor secretary, she’s doing the same to queer workers.

In May, Chavez-DeRemer’s department announced the cancellation of $13.6 million in federal diversity, equity, and inclusion grants — many designed to support transgender, nonbinary, immigrant, and disabled workers in job training programs across the U.S. The cuts gutted initiatives focused on pre-apprenticeship access, workplace safety for trans women of color, and inclusive hiring in tech and energy sectors. Her department claimed it was “eliminating discriminatory DEI experiments.” But for LGBTQ+ workers — especially those in hostile states — these weren’t experiments. They were lifelines.

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Robert F. Kennedy Jr

RFK Jr. calls gender-affirming care “child abuse.” As HHS secretary, he’s already removed recognition for trans and intersex people from federal health guidance. Long known for pushing vaccine conspiracies, Kennedy now uses his platform to attack queer health care directly — cutting access to HIV prevention, transition care, and mental health services. Kennedy once blamed poppers for the AIDS epidemic.

Critics say his shift from fringe figure to federal policymaker represents a dangerous normalization of anti-LGBTQ+ pseudoscience.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Scott Turner

Scott Turner has quietly gutted protections for LGBTQ+ people facing homelessness. As HUD secretary, he ended enforcement of the Equal Access Rule, which ensured trans people could access shelters that aligned with their gender identity.

A former NFL player, Turner couches his decisions in “faith-based freedom.” But when faith is used to deny shelter, it’s not spiritual — it’s strategic. Queer youth, especially trans youth of color, are already disproportionately homeless. Turner’s policies ensure they stay that way.

Secretary of Transportation: Sean Duffy

Sean Duffy built his political career opposing LGBTQ+ rights and hasn’t changed course. The former MTV Real World house guest opposed marriage equality, backed Trump’s trans military ban, and, as a Wisconsin congressman, refused to support the Equality Act. As transportation secretary, he now oversees civil rights enforcement in transit systems and airports — places where queer and trans people, especially those of color, face daily harassment.

Secretary of Energy: Chris Wright

Chris Wright isn’t directly attacking LGBTQ+ people, but his war on science makes him dangerous nonetheless. As former CEO of Liberty Energy, Wright has railed against “woke” climate policies and mocked inclusive education in STEM fields. He’s said nothing publicly about LGBTQ+ rights. However, his leadership arrives as the Department of Energy scales back diversity initiatives and equity requirements in federal research grants.

Secretary of Education: Linda McMahon

Linda McMahon made millions leading WWE, where homophobia was part of the script. As secretary of education, she’s brought that mindset into federal policy. McMahon has launched investigations into schools that support trans students, framing pronoun use and inclusive policies as violations of federal privacy law.

GLAAD has long criticized her entertainment background for trafficking in anti-LGBTQ+ stereotypes. Now she’s taking real-life swings at trans youth. With McMahon overseeing national education policy, queer and trans students aren’t just under attack — they’re being used as political pawns in the GOP’s cultural crusade.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Doug Collins

Doug Collins, a former GOP congressman and military chaplain, voted against the Equality Act and cosponsored bills defending anti-LGBTQ+ “religious beliefs.” Now he controls the health care system for queer and trans veterans. LGBTQ+ service members already face higher rates of mental health challenges, discrimination, and denial of care.

Collins has shown no interest in addressing any of it. Instead, he stopped care for transgender veterans and rescinded policies that allowed for the dignified treatment of transgender people in VA facilities. Now those who served their country and who are trans or nonbinary can no longer expect to be treated with respect when seeking care at the VA.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Kristi Noem

Kristi Noem’s anti-LGBTQ+ record is among the most extreme in Trump’s cabinet. As South Dakota governor, she signed one of the nation’s first trans sports bans and a sweeping “religious refusal” law that opened the door to broad anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Now, as head of Homeland Security, her cruelty has turned global. In March, DHS deported Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan asylum seeker, to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison — where he disappeared. Noem didn’t just oversee that policy. She championed it. When gay California U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia pleaded with her to check on Romero’s wellbeing, she refused. Her message to LGBTQ+ people fleeing violence is simple: You’re not welcome here.