A press release from the White House praised the Supreme Court’s recent rulings upholding states’ ability to restrict trans participation in women’s sports as bolstering the “President’s push to eliminate transgender insanity”. Less noticed, but even more worrisome to some trans advocates is a proposed rule requiring that political appointees conduct a “pre-clearance review” of all federal grant recipients to insure against “denial by the recipient of the sex binary in humans or the notion that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic.” This could affect federal funding of all health care and educational institutions, among many others who receive federal funds, and could penalize them for any policies acknowledging trans clients, students, or employees. In more positive news, the Trump administration, responding to a congressional funding mandate, has restored the Press 3 option to the 988 national mental health crisis hotline, which was specially created to serve LGBTQ youth. However, the new rules make it impossible for the Trevor Project to participate, even though Trevor pioneered the service and fielded over half the 1.6 million calls received in the three years of its existence. It is also unclear whether the administration’s ban on promotion of “trans ideology” will make it possible for counselors to respond adequately to the needs of trans youth who may try to access the hotline.
More Developments from Trumpland
