In a fiery speech at the HRC Greater New York Dinner, Sarah McBride, the historic first openly transgender member of Congress, condemned President Trump’s sweeping anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Her remarks came just weeks after Trump issued a series of executive orders restricting transgender rights, including bans on gender markers beyond male and female, revoking protections for transgender students, and prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
McBride opened her address by acknowledging the challenges facing marginalized communities under the current administration. “I step into Congress at a moment of uncertainty and fear,” she said. “This administration has wasted no time diverting federal resources to attack transgender people—from forcing us out of government records to targeting our youth and service members.”
She pointed to specific examples, such as the removal of the ‘X’ gender option on passports and the push to deny medical care to transgender children. “They’re censoring content, freezing funding, and erasing words like ‘transgender’ from federally funded programs. They’re even threatening schools that support LGBTQ+ students—all within two weeks.”
Despite the onslaught, McBride remained defiant. “They’re obsessed—we live rent free in their minds,” she joked, before urging attendees to fight smarter. “We need to meet people where they are, not retreat into echo chambers. This is about opening hearts and saving lives.”
She closed with a call to action, imploring activists to expose the administration’s true motives. “They’re using trans people as pawns to gut the federal government and enrich themselves. I won’t let them succeed. I refuse to give them that power.”
