Few LGBT people thought Donald Trump would be a friend to the community if elected president. The New York Times editorial board looked at the early record and debunked the idea.
They point out a number of appointments of officials to top positions who are openly hostile to the LGBT equality. Human Rights Campaign highlighted some of the top points:
• Among his first actions, AG Jeff Sessions revoked the Obama Administration’s guidance protecting the dignity and safety of transgender students;
• Tom Price, an anti-LGBTQ politician picked by Trump to head the Department of Health and Human Services, which under Obama expanded access to healthcare for LGBTQ people, has been joined by Roger Severino, equally hostile to LGBTQ equality, to run the Department’s Office of Civil Rights;;
• Trump has nominated aggressively anti-LGBTQ Tennessee legislator Mark Green to head the U.S. Army, most recently led by Eric Fanning — the first openly gay leader of a branch of the U.S. military.
• Under Trump, federal agencies, including HHS, are rolling back efforts to collect data on the LGBTQ communities.
In addition, on Friday, (April 14), Trump nominated former New Jersey Rep. Scott Garrett to become president of the Export-Import Bank. Garrett refused to contribute to the House Republicans fundraising campaign because he said it supported gay candidates.
