Josh Sorbe is using his voice on Capitol Hill to fight for LGBTQ+ rights

Josh Sorbe

At 28, Josh Sorbe is already making change as the press secretary for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats. He’s young, out, and a former Division I long-distance swimmer from the red state of South Dakota. He’s also helping steer the messaging behind some of the most high-stakes policy fights on Capitol Hill, including the relentless attacks on LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender Americans.

“I don’t take the role lightly,” Sorbe says. “I feel like every day that I show up to work and own my identity, it’s a piece of the resistance.”

In a climate where anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric are dominating right-wing politics, Sorbe is helping Democrats find their voice and fight back.

“Republicans are very good at empowering influencers and surrogates and a lot of people to just fill the space,” he says. “Democrats want to be perfect. But I think the best thing you can do is empower a ton of people to go out and talk 90 percent correctly about something, rather than hyper-polish one person.”

Sorbe explains that he’s using both his position on the Hill and his own privilege to work for the rights of fellow LGBTQ+ people.

“Our committee will hear issues of LGBTQ+ rights all the time, and especially as a cisgender white gay man, I feel like I have a burden to use this space to help people who society is pretty willing to turn on,” he says

His journey to the Hill wasn’t direct. Sorbe won a Truman Scholarship, a prestigious national award granted to students with exceptional leadership potential and a commitment to public service by the Truman Foundation. He was set to enter a master’s in education program at Johns Hopkins University when the pandemic hit.

“I had my application ready, I had my deposit ready, and COVID hit and I got cold feet,” Sorbe explains. The disruption led him to question whether being in the classroom was the only way to make an impact in education and public service.

“I realized that you can care about the classroom without working in it,” he says. That realization led him to D.C., where he worked at the Truman Foundation, then joined Democratic New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan’s reelection campaign as digital manager.

In his current role, he manages both traditional press and digital strategy. He serves as a visible out man in a space where LGBTQ+ staffers are still underrepresented and decisions about LGBTQ+ lives are debated daily.

“Republicans flood the zone,” he says. “[Democrats] need people. We need queer messengers. And we need to be real.”

To younger LGBTQ+ people wondering if there’s a place for them in government, he says, “Tell your story. That’s your power. We take for granted just how potent our stories are when it comes to feelings of not belonging, triumph, and trial.”

This article is part of The Advocate's July/Aug 2025 issue, on newsstands now. Support queer media and subscribe — or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader.