Donald Trump promised he would fight for LGBTQ people. Instead, his administration has systematically undone recent gains in their rights and protections. Here are 31 examples.

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When he campaigned for president, Donald Trump posed with the rainbow flag and became the first GOP nominee to mention LGBTQ citizens in his convention speech. In his first month as president, he released a statement stating he was “determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community.” Yet since taking office, Trump’s administration has acted to dismantle federal protections and resources for LGBTQ Americans, particularly those gained under President Barack Obama. In a reversal from the Obama administration, the Trump administration has repeatedly taken the position that laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex do not cover a person discriminated against for being gay or transgender. The administration has also pushed for religious exemptions to civil rights laws, which experts say will make it easier to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals. The administration has taken particular aim at transgender people, barring them from joining the military. The White House did not respond to requests for comment about its track record on LGBTQ issues. In response to our questions, agency officials defended these changes, largely depicting them as necessary corrections to overreach by the Obama administration. Elsewhere, the administration has also promoted its goal to “end the HIV epidemic in the U.S." by 2030, which includes efforts to expand access to drugs that prevent and treat HIV infections. ProPublica reviewed actions taken by the Trump administration that could directly affect LGBTQ citizens. We found dozens of changes that represent a profound reshaping of the way the federal government treats the more than 11 million lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

Employment

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow [...] Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.”

Donald Trump, via Twitter

President

Schools and Youth Groups

“President Trump [r]evoked the Education Department’s order that public schools allow gender-confused males access to girls’ restrooms and locker rooms.”

under “achievements”

Health Care

“We’re going back to the plain meaning of those terms, which is based on biological sex.”

Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services

Public Housing

“Everybody is equal, everybody has equal rights, but nobody gets extra rights. And when we start trying to impose the extra rights based on a few people who perhaps are abnormal, where does that lead?”

Ben Carson, in a 2016 interview

Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development

Foster Care and Adoption

“Child welfare providers will never be forced to choose between their faith and serving those in need — not on our watch.”

Mike Pence, in a speech at HHS’ 2019 National Adoption Month Celebration

Vice President

Criminal Justice

“The designation to a facility of the inmate’s identified gender would be appropriate only in rare cases.”

The Federal Bureau of Prisons approved new policy guidelines rolling back Obama-era policies that recommended housing transgender inmates by gender identity “when appropriate.” The new guidelines direct staff to instead use an inmate’s “biological sex” to make initial housing and facilities assignments. The new manual states that exceptions to those assignments should be rare. Untitled-5

Public Life

“There is no need for the power of the government to be arrayed against an individual who is honestly attempting to live out — to freely exercise — his sincere religious beliefs, and there are plenty of other people to bake that cake.”

Former Attorney General

The Census Bureau, after the DOJ withdrew its request, removed proposed questions about sexual orientation and gender identity from the final 2020 American Community Survey. Several federal agencies and many advocacy groups had proposed asking the questions in order to better understand and track LGBTQ demographics in the country. Data from the census is used to help distribute billions in federal funds, and without such questions, advocates worry that the LGBTQ community’s needs are at risk of not being met. Untitled-5 The DOJ dropped an Obama-era federal lawsuit against North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” law, saying that the state had repealed the law and replaced it with a new one. That new law dropped the bathroom requirements, which restricted the public restrooms transgender people could use, but barred local governments from enacting their own anti-discrimination laws until 2020. The ACLU and Lambda Legal, which had filed lawsuits against the bathroom bill, amended their suits and continued their challenge in the courts. That effort resulted in a consent decree giving transgender people access to bathrooms matching their gender identity in North Carolina state-run buildings, but it does not reverse the ban against local anti-discrimination ordinances. Untitled-5 In a Supreme Court case over whether a Colorado baker had the right to refuse service to a gay couple on religious and freedom of speech grounds, the DOJ submitted an amicus brief in support of the baker’s right to refuse service. The ACLU opposed the brief, calling it another example of the Trump administration advocating for “nothing short of a constitutional right to discriminate” against LGBT people. The case ultimately resulted in a narrow Supreme Court ruling in favor of the baker, finding that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission was hostile to the baker’s religious beliefs. Untitled-5 The Trump administration released a statement opposing the passage of the Equality Act, which passed the House but has not been taken up for a vote by the Senate. The bill, which extends civil rights protections to LGBTQ people and prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, would need to be brought up for a vote by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Untitled-5

Correction, Nov. 25, 2019: This story originally misstated an action by President Donald Trump. He did not sign an executive order stating he was “determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community,” he released a statement saying so.