Congress

Hard-liners balk at GOP’s failure to enshrine anti-transgender laws

Published

5 months ago

June 1, 2026

GOP hard-liners who promised voters they’d use their new majority in Washington to enact anti-trans legislation are increasingly frustrated their leaders don’t seem to share the same commitment.

A record number of bills that would roll back access to health care, sports participation and military service for transgender individuals have been introduced over the last year and a half after Republicans spent tens of millions of dollars campaigning on the issue in 2024.

The party has struggled, however, to get more than a handful to President Donald Trump’s desk, and some Republicans worry the weak showing could deflate red state voters come November as the GOP fights to keep control of Congress.

These members are now looking toward legislative packages — like the annual defense policy bill or party-line budget reconciliation bills — as their last chance to codify restrictions on the trans community this year. But leaders are still not making the issues a priority, they say.

“It just amazes me that they aren’t listening on this issue, I really don’t understand that,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said in a recent interview.

Hawley has failed to convince leaders to attach a provision in the current immigration enforcement-focused reconciliation bill that would defund Planned Parenthood, which offers gender-affirming care he called “risky” and “dangerous” for children.

While he successfully zeroed out Medicaid funding for the health care provider in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — one of the few anti-transgender measures Congress has enacted — that provision will expire in July, upping the pressure to get it reauthorized.

“I’ve absolutely been telling [leaders] I want this in the next bill because taxpayer money shouldn’t be funding transgender treatment for minors,” added Hawley, who is now looking ahead to the potential third reconciliation bill the party could advance later this year.

U.S. medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, support gender-affirming care for adolescents.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has introduced a bill that would bar funding from entities that allow individuals to use single-sex restrooms or locker rooms that don’t match their sex assigned at birth. Asked why that measure hasn’t moved through the House, Mace said in an interview, “It’s a great question for the speaker.”

A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson’s office noted that besides last year’s health care funding limitation, measures blocking trans women from joining women’s sports teams at military universities and cutting some diversity, equity and inclusion program initiatives have also successfully been enacted as part of the latest defense authorization bill.

And three GOP bills have passed the House this Congress, including former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) bill to establish criminal penalties for performing or providing gender-affirming care to minors.

A person familiar with Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s thinking, granted anonymity to speak candidly, disputed the claim that he doesn’t share the same urgency for anti-trans action as ultraconservatives, pointing to the South Dakota Republican’s moves to bring related GOP measures to the floor and attributing their failure to a lack of bipartisan support necessary to clear 60-vote procedural hurdles.

That roadblock has been the source of growing calls from frustrated conservatives for Thune to push through a Senate rules change to allow more bills to pass by a simple majority — a drastic action he opposes and says he lacks the votes to achieve.

“I’ve called on Thune to nuke the filibuster. It has to be done,” said Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.). “There’s no other way conservative legislation like this passes.”

Steube introduced a bill, which passed the House last January, that would prohibit schools receiving federal funding from allowing trans girls to play on female sports teams. Senate Democrats have four times defeated a similar measure introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), most recently as an amendment to a stalled partisan elections bill known as the SAVE America Act.

“At some point it does get frustrating that we’re not doing every single thing we can get done,” Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) recently complained. “And until somebody picks this up and says ‘I am going to be a true advocate,’ then we have no way of pushing it any further.”

Owens co-sponsored a measure that passed the House before the recent weeklong recess that would strip federal funds from public schools that alter a student’s name or pronouns in their records without parental permission.

Conservative Republicans started 2025 eager to capitalize on an issue that, in the lead-up to the 2024 election, appeared to galvanize voters. House and Senate Republicans and their affiliated campaign arms unleashed over $110 million in ads on issues such as rejecting gender-affirming care for minors and banning transgender women from participating in women’s and girls’ sports, according to AdImpact data.

Trump, in the closing days of his presidential campaign, spent more on ads criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris for supporting rights for transgender people than on any other subject.

House and Senate Republicans sought to ride the perceived wave of public opinion by introducing record levels of legislation they say are designed to protect the rights of women and girls and shield taxpayers from paying for gender-affirming care they call harmful and exploitative of minors.

Gallup polling before and after the election found that 69 percent of U.S. adults believe that transgender athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth sex. Still, advocates counter that 85 percent of Americans surveyed believe transgender people should have the same rights as everyone else, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ rights group.

More than 125 anti-transgender measures were introduced in 2026 alone — up from 109 in 2025 and 88 in 2024, according to counts from Trans Legislation Tracker, a research organization monitoring state and national bills that impact trans and gender-diverse people across the country.

But few of Congress’ legislative efforts have crossed the finish line.

Republicans have been foiled by mobilization from Democrats, who largely argue such restrictions amount to gender discrimination that contributes to serious considerations of suicide among two thirds of transgender youth. Democrats were also able to strip more than 40 “anti-LBGTQ+ riders” from annual government funding bills for the current fiscal year, according to the nearly-200 member Congressional Equality Caucus.

“Every time an anti-LGBTQI+ bill or amendment comes to the floor, members of the Congressional Equality Caucus organize a response and whip as hard as we can against them,” Caucus Chair Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said in a statement.

Meanwhile, despite the GOP’s lack of progress in Congress, White House executive actions and GOP-controlled legislatures have enacted a soaring number of anti-trans policies.

Trump, within the first days of his second administration, signed executive orders to: declare the government would only recognize two sexes, male and female; withhold federal funding for institutions that deliver gender-affirming care to minors; and ban transgender people from the military, among other efforts.

Before Trump started his second term, transgender women had been allowed to compete in women’s categories in the Olympics since 2003 and the NCAA since 2010.

At least 50 anti-trans bills have passed this year alone in red states like Florida, Tennessee, Utah, Kansas and Idaho. And states overall have passed more than 350 anti-trans bills since 2021.

The real-world impact of these efforts has jeopardized the mental and physical wellbeing of transgender individuals, many of whom have also faced violent threats as the issue becomes more deeply politicized, advocates say.

And since most major U.S. medical organizations say gender-affirming care is well-tested, safe and can be medically necessary, many parents of transgender minors have been forced to make a difficult choice: watch their child grapple with what can be extreme distress or move their families to less restrictive states or outside of the U.S to continue care that has been blocked or restricted.

“It would be a mistake to measure the threat to transgender Americans solely by what has or hasn’t passed Congress,” said David Stacy, vice president of government affairs at the Human Rights Campaign.

“The Trump administration has used executive overreach to dismantle hard-won protections, and state legislatures across the country are moving in lockstep.”

Back on Capitol Hill, Republicans insist that codifying some of these policies nationwide is important, while conceding the reality of doing so before November is unlikely.

“Look, it’s absurd that we allow men in women’s sports in our society when I think the vast majority of Americans don’t support it either,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis). “But are we going to get something done this legislative session? Time’s running out, to be honest.”

House Republicans have already packed at least 18 anti-LGBTQ+ policy riders in partisan versions of fiscal 2027 appropriations bills that Democrats are eyeing for removal, according to the Congressional Equality Caucus, and some GOP lawmakers aren’t interested in the risks involved in fighting for the survival of these partisan provisions.

“You could just run out of runway,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said in an interview. “And we’ve got to prioritize. If I’ve got a choice between some of those [trans] issues and getting the NDAA and farm bill out, then I’ve got to favor NDAA and farm bill.”

Congress

Capitol agenda: Sanders could soon get a Senate bully pulpit

Published

6 hours ago

October 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Bernie Sanders is already the most prominent voice on the American left. Now he’s on the brink of getting a powerful perch to do something about it.

Sanders is poised to lead Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions if Democrats flip the chamber next week — a chance to push the party further left and shape the next presidential contest in which he’s signaled he’s unlikely to be a candidate.

“If I have anything to say about it … the agenda of the Democratic Party is going to be extremely bold,” the 85-year-old independent said. “We’re going to do what the American people want.”

Sanders’ term runs through 2030, and with President Donald Trump in the White House for at least two more years, it’s unlikely many of his sweeping legislative dreams will be fulfilled anytime soon. But with a role atop the health panel, Sanders could leverage any Trump veto of his legislation along with his own oversight powers to paint the party’s priorities for voters heading into 2028.

He’s already signaling he would make a “Medicare for All” universal health plan a signature push next year.

As for labor matters, Sanders has said he would try to raise the minimum wage, advance legislation that would expand employees’ ability to unionize and also protect workers from artificial-intelligence-driven job loss.

On education, Sanders has called to make four-year public college tuition-free and to raise teacher pay.

During his first round with the HELP gavel in 2023 and 2024, Sanders’ legislative plans were stymied by a GOP-controlled House and more moderate Democratic colleagues.

But the Senate Democratic Caucus and the party writ large have moved closer toward Sanders since then, and several of the Senate’s 2028 White House hopefuls are from the left.

Sanders may also find himself with a GOP counterpart more willing to play ball to hold administration officials accountable. Sen. Lisa Murkowski — who has raised concerns about Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — could become the top Republican on HELP if Sen. Rand Paul continues to lead Homeland Security.

Joseph Geevarghese — the executive director of Our Revolution, which Sanders founded but is now an independent organization — added that a Chair Sanders “would put the affordability crisis at the center of what an opposition party should be doing” while extracting concessions from the Trump administration for working families.

“In that sense, he could become the party’s de facto leader,” Geevarghese added.

What else we’re watching:

— DEMS PLAN TRUMP TARGET FOR EPSTEIN PROBE — House Democrats are making increasingly clear they have no plans to abandon their line of inquiry into whether Trump was involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, should they retake the majority in the midterms. A new report, titled “The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ’s Desperate Efforts to Cover It Up,” lists five women who have accused Trump “of raping or sexually assaulting them” in the company of Epstein.

— BLANCHE ON ALASKA: ‘THERE COULD BE A CRIME’ — Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the newly filed lawsuit to prevent Alaska state officials from certifying November’s election results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. In a Sunday BLN interview, host Dana Bash asked what crime the administration was arguing was being committed, Blanche replied, “It depends.” “There could be a crime,” said Blanche. “But the real wrong here is that Alaskans are going to be confused and will not have their vote heard.”

Jordain Carney, Chris Marquette, Cheyanne M. Daniels contributed to this report.

Congress

Bernie Sanders could soon get a powerful perch to help shape 2028

Published

6 hours ago

October 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Bernie Sanders probably isn’t going to be president. But he might be about to get one last chance to define his legacy in Washington.

The Vermont independent is poised to lead the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee if Democrats can flip the Senate next month — giving the 85-year-old leftist icon a powerful perch he could use to promote his political movement and shape a 2028 presidential contest in which he has indicated he’s unlikely to be a candidate.

He will also have to balance his colleagues’ strong desire to hold President Donald Trump’s administration to account, particularly the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But he is making clear he plans to use his power to highlight systemic issues that go beyond the workings of any one agency.

“If I have anything to say about it … the agenda of the Democratic Party is going to be extremely bold. It is going to take on high costs,” Sanders said when asked about how he plans to use his prospective gavel. “The super PACs are not going to run the agenda anymore. We’re going to do what the American people want.”

Sanders’ term runs through 2030, and with Trump in the White House for at least two more years, it’s unlikely many of his sweeping legislative dreams will be fulfilled anytime soon. But he has long been comfortable using his power in the Senate to push Democrats — with whom he caucuses — further to the left.

During Joe Biden’s presidency, Sanders led the Budget Committee as Democrats pursued major party-line domestic policy bills. As part of a $1.9 trillion Covid relief package he helped shepherd, he tried unsuccessfully to include a $15 minimum wage hike.

He pushed the party to go bigger in what ultimately became the Inflation Reduction Act by backing a $6 trillion plan that would have beefed up the social safety net by adding, among other things, vision, hearing and dental coverage to Medicare. That vision was curtailed significantly as Biden and Democratic leaders struggled to secure the needed votes.

All the while, Sanders called hearing after hearing on big national issues that touched only indirectly on the federal budget — including climate change, income inequality and Amazon’s labor practices.

He also promoted a “Medicare for All” universal health plan. And now, with the possibility of gaining direct oversight of health matters, Sanders is signaling he intends to make it a signature push.

“The current system is broken, dysfunctional, and wildly expensive,” he told reporters last month. He followed up this month with a social media post warning Democrats that if they win back power there can be “no more failed establishment status quo policies.”

“If the Democratic Party thinks that they can just tinker around the edges once they take control of Congress, guess again,” he said.

The Senate Democratic Caucus and the party writ large have moved closer toward Sanders since his earlier tussles under the Biden administration. The moderates who forced Sanders and fellow progressives to scale back their ambitions have departed, and several of the Senate’s 2028 White House hopefuls are from the left.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who is flirting with a 2028 presidential bid and has been floated by some progressives as a future Senate leader, said “Medicare for All” is something a Democrat-controlled Senate should pursue.

“The reality is people are facing huge increases in premiums and copays. … So we need a Medicare-for-All-type solution,” Van Hollen said. “This is the kind of debate we need to have.”

In addition to health care — the oversight of which HELP shares with the Finance Committee — Sanders would have a big role to play in labor matters. He has said he would try to raise the minimum wage, advance legislation that would expand employees’ ability to unionize and also protect workers from artificial-intelligence-driven job loss.

“If I have anything to say about it, we’ve got to slow it down big time, “ Sanders said of AI. “The American people want us to pause.”

On education, Sanders has called to make four-year public college tuition-free and to raise teacher pay. But many Democrats are also eager to delve into Trump’s ongoing effort to downsize and ultimately eliminate the Education Department.

Sanders’ office produced an often-cited report showing that the department’s civil rights enforcement has plummeted. But some of the high-profile actions to rein in the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the department have been taken by other panel members.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) struck a deal with outgoing the committee chair, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), tovote on legislation to block the offloading of certain key programs to other federal agencies. And it was Kaine who publicly prodded Cassidy to call a hearing with Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

During Sanders’ first round with the HELP gavel, in 2023 and 2024, his legislative plans were stymied by a GOP-controlled House. But he put a spotlight on rising health care costs by bringing in health care company CEOs to testify. He and Cassidy, then the top Republican on the panel, also led an effort to hold the CEO of a large hospital network that had declared bankruptcy in contempt of Congress after declining to testify.

Cassidy is leaving the Senate at the end of the year, and it’s not yet clear who will be his replacement as HELP’s top Republican. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is next in line, but he could choose to continue leading the GOP on the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel instead, in which case the job could fall to Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Murkowski has raised pointed concerns with Kennedy’s leadership at HHS, which could generate some promising bipartisan oversight opportunities. Sanders could also find overlap with some committee Republicans who are AI-skeptical, like Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.

But Sanders’ supporters of the left see his potential ascension to HELP chair as an opportunity to push a progressive vision that could frame the future of American politics — not to pare down ambitions and cooperate with Republicans.

“He’s worked his entire life … on getting everybody health care as a human right and winning everybody a living wage,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) said in an interview, adding that Sanders is “going to make a huge difference next year.”

Joseph Geevarghese — the executive director of Our Revolution, which Sanders founded but is now an independent organization — added that a Chair Sanders “would put the affordability crisis at the center of what an opposition party should be doing” while using Trump administration oversight “to extract concessions and secure concrete gains for working families.”

“In that sense, he could become the party’s de facto leader,” Geevarghese added, “helping define Democrats as a party prepared to fight for working people while taking on Trump.”

Mackenzie Wilkes and Riley Rogerson contributed to this report.

Congress

House Judiciary Democrats want a special counsel to investigate Trump’s ties to Epstein

Published

6 hours ago

October 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Democrats are making increasingly clear they have no plans to abandon their line of inquiry into whether President Donald Trump was involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, should they retake the majority in the midterms.

A new report from the minority staff for the House Judiciary Committee, released Monday, calls for a special counsel to investigate Trump’s ties to the late convicted sex offender, alleging he was “an active participant in Jeffery Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women during the mid-to-late 1990s.”

While Congress does not have the power to appoint a special counsel, the report also makes the case for increased federal support to assist with state and foreign prosecutions of Epstein’s co-conspirators, along with further congressional action to uncover Epstein’s expansive sex trafficking scheme — both actions lawmakers could undertake through legislation.

“The women who survived Epstein deserve to be heard, Congress must have the complete files required by law, and an independent special counsel must investigate Epstein’s co-conspirators and DOJ’s cover-up and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors have the evidence they need to pursue justice,” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the panel’s top Democrat said in a statement.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein’s actions and has repeatedly said he and Epstein had a falling out years ago and that he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago “for being a creep.”

But Democrats think the House Republican-led Epstein investigation has allowed accusations against Trump to go unchecked. They also want to put more pressure on the Justice Department to account for the agency’s slow-walking and haphazard release of all the Epstein files, despite the law Congress passed last year compelling all the materials be made available.

Their new report, titled “The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ’s Desperate Efforts to Cover It Up,” lists five women who have accused Trump “of raping or sexually assaulting them” in the company of Epstein.

Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that Trump has been “totally exonerated on anything related to Epstein,” adding that the president “has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him” by “releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends.”

As spokesperson for House Judiciary Republicans did not immediately respond to a request for comment.