Trump posted an article to his Truth Social account this weekend featuring a deeply troubling image: a pink triangle—the Nazi-era symbol used to identify and persecute gay men in concentration camps—covered with a red prohibited sign.
Historically, the LGBTQ+ rights movement reclaimed the pink triangle as a symbol of resistance, pride, and remembrance.
The article itself titled, “Army recruitment ads look quite different under Trump,” published by the Washington Times praises Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for refocusing the military on “lethality” and reversing Biden-era policies that embraced diversity, including ads featuring LGBTQ+ soldiers.
Read the full article. The Washington Times is a far-right outlet founded and owned by the Unification Church – which is better known as the Moonies. Surely homocons Scott Bessent and Richard Grenell are thrilled with a no-gays symbol.
LGBTQ+ youth are experiencing bullying, discrimination, physical violence, conversion therapy, and suicidality in all 50 states, according to The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People — though there are some regions that are worse for their well-being.
LGBTQ+ youth who live in the South were most likely to report wanting but being unable to access to mental health care, the highest rates being 63 percent in South Carolina and 60 percent in Texas. The South also had some of the highest rates of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, including 65 percent in Alabama and 66 percent in Arkansas, and some of the lowest levels of community acceptance, including 21 percent in Mississippi and 33 percent in Tennessee.
LGBTQ+ young people living in states across the Midwest reported the highest rates of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, including 43 percent in Ohiowho experienced suicidal thoughts, and 45 percent in Nebraska. LGBTQ+ youth in the Midwest also reported some of the highest rates of physical threat or harm based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the highest being 24 percent in Wisconsin and 28 percent in Kansas.
“Similar to previous research, these data reinforce that LGBTQ+ youth are not disproportionately impacted by suicide because of who they are, but rather, because of how they are mistreated, stigmatized, and discriminated against,” said Jaymes Black CEO of The Trevor Project. “This is an incredibly difficult time for many LGBTQ+ young people – and these findings give us critical insight into the unique challenges they face in every state. We hope lawmakers, advocates, youth-serving professionals, and allies in every corner of the country use this research to better understand and support the young people in their communities.”
In comparison, LGBTQ+ youth in the Northeast reported significantly higher levels of community acceptance, including 90 percent in Massachusetts and 81 percent in Maine. They also had relatively lower rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts, with 26 percent in Connecticut experiencing suicidal thought and 36 percent in New Hampshire.
LGBTQ+ youth in the West had some of the highest rates of affirming home environments, including 54 percent in Montana and Oregon. However, they also reported some of the highest levels of depression, with 52 percent of LGBTQ+ youth in California experiencing symptoms of depression in the past year.
“Many of these state findings are grim, and they signal serious gaps in resources and outsized mental health challenges for already marginalized youth that we simply must address,” said Ronita Nath, Vice President of Research at The Trevor Project. “However, these data also give us a clear call to action: we must all do our part to make LGBTQ+ young people feel more welcome and accepted in the places they call home.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.
For the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, the choice was impossible: erase mentions of transgender people from its website or risk the ire of the Trump administration, which has required that groups receiving federal funding end diversity, equity and inclusion programs and recognize only two sexes.
So the group reluctantly took down references to transgender people from its website, including mentions of services for transgender veterans and LGBTQ-focused book recommendations.
It did so just as the nation’s largest group fighting sexual violence, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), also pulled down pages referring to transgender people.
The backlash was swift. Local and national organizations that support women and sexual assault victims issued rare public criticisms of their allies, accusing them of abandoning trans victims, who face high rates of sexual violence, and urged other groups to “hold the line.”
The conflict exposed a sharp divide in the ecosystem of nonprofit groups that work to address sexual violence, many of which rely heavily on government funding to operate. Leaders of such groups say they feel pressured to choose between protecting grants they need to serve people in crisis and taking a stand for vulnerable members of their constituency.
“It’s thrown a lot of chaos into a sector that’s already — let’s face it — grossly underfunded,” said Emily Miles, executive director of the NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault. “I can have empathy for difficult decisions organizations are having to make right now while also holding them to account for survivors who need their assistance.”
Shortly after the executive orders were signed, the Office of Management and Budget instructed the Justice Department, among other agencies, to review its programs for compliance. A spreadsheet provided by the OMB included roughly two dozen Justice Department programs that dole out more than half a billion dollars combined to combat sexual violence.
That, along with reports that the Trump administration is using keywords that include “sex,” “trauma” and “gender” to identify science grants to cut, worried many nonprofit groups.
White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields did not address questions about how the groups were responding to the executive orders but reiterated the administration’s commitment to same-sex services for victims of sexual violence.
In recent weeks, the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women has removed all grant applications and has not explained why. The department did not respond to a request for comment. “On the horizon, that’s the big question mark about what’s going to happen to those funding opportunities,” Miles said.
Yolanda Edrington, CEO of Respect Together, the umbrella organization of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect, said more than 90% of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s funding comes from state and federal government grants. Losing it could mean laying off staff members and not being able to provide services like legal counseling for victims.
But after it removed references to LGBTQ victims, the organization quickly reversed course, restored them and issued a public apology Feb. 20, calling it “a fear-based decision to the executive orders.”
In an interview, Edrington said the group was wrong to cave in to the administration so quickly. “We know exactly who we are and who we should represent, and we failed at that. I don’t want to mince words with that at all,” she said.
Edrington said she recently participated in a call with nearly two dozen other nonprofit anti-violence groups in which they discussed “which one of us can take the heat and be the loudest” while withstanding a potential loss of federal funding. They did not come to a decision.
Emily May, a co-founder and the president of Right To Be, a nonprofit anti-harassment organization, said her group relies on the federal government for at least 10% of its funding. It provides workplace culture training to several federal agencies and has already received word that two of them are unlikely to renew their contracts.
“Everybody is incredibly aware everything you say or do can put a target on your back, and that can be incredibly scary,” May said. “But the target is already on our back.”
Feeling that pressure, RAINN — which runs federally funded sexual assault hotlines, among other programs — removed its inclusion policy and pages expressing support for LGBTQ survivors. It also sent an email to everyone in its speakers bureau Feb. 7 saying it had unpublished victims’ stories, along with videos and social posts,in part to comply with federal guidance. The organization would be in touch with victims, it added, to see whether they “would like to update and republish” their stories.
Jennifer Simmons Kaleba, a RAINN spokeswoman, said federal agencies instructed the organization to change its website. She declined to offer specifics or identify which government offices advised it to remove LGBTQ-related content.
For Ethan Levine, an activist and member of RAINN’s speakers bureau, who is transgender, RAINN’s removal of the survivors’ stories was insulting. “I felt cast aside,” he said.He felt the group was asking him to update his story “to make it more palatable in this moment” and hoped that RAINN would follow the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s lead and reverse its decision — or at least explain it further.
“If the biggest sexual assault organization in the U.S. is not willing to stand up, then what message does that send to smaller organizations?” he asked.
Simmons Kaleba said RAINN’s mission has not changed. “Any survivor can come to us as their authentic selves, and they’ll be safely received — so we do support every survivor of sexual assault,” she said. “That said, not everyone will support what we’ve had to do to continue our crisis services, and that’s a very reasonable reaction.”
On Feb. 20, as backlash mounted, the group sent an email saying that “RAINN stands with ALL survivors” and that it remains “steadfast in this mission,” urging supporters to sign a petition of support. It did not explain its decision to remove language from its site.
Sexual Violence Center, a Minnesota-based organization supporting rape victims, condemned RAINN in a statement last week and urged it to use its “considerable influence” to push back. The post was shared by Christian Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women, who warned the groups not to become “complicit” with the administration.
For Miles, of the NYC Alliance, RAINN’s decision to quickly comply with the Trump administration’s guidance put pressure on smaller groups to follow suit.
“Now is the time we have to show a little bravery, and we need to be banding together,” Miles said. “That’s the only way we are going to sustain this.”
References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press.
The database, which was confirmed by U.S. officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the eventual total could be much higher.
One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been made public, said the purge could delete as many as 100,000 images or posts in total, when considering social media pages and other websites that are also being culled for DEI content. The official said it’s not clear if the database has been finalized.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had given the military until Wednesday to remove content that highlights diversity efforts in its ranks following President Donald Trump’s executive order ending those programs across the federal government.
The vast majority of the Pentagon purge targets women and minorities, including notable milestones made in the military. And it also removes a large number of posts that mention various commemorative months — such as those for Black and Hispanic people and women.
But a review of the database also underscores the confusion that has swirled among agencies about what to remove following Trump’s order.
Aircraft and fish projects are flagged
In some cases, photos seemed to be flagged for removal simply because their file included the word “gay,” including service members with that last name and an image of the B-29 aircraft Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.
Several photos of an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in California were marked for deletion, apparently because a local engineer in the photo had the last name Gay. And a photo of Army Corps biologists was on the list, seemingly because it mentioned they were recording data about fish — including their weight, size, hatchery and gender.
In addition, some photos of the Tuskegee Airmen, the nation’s first Black military pilots who served in a segregated WWII unit, were listed on the database, but those may likely be protected due to historical content.
Armorers and other ground personnel undergo training at Chanute Field, Ill., during World War II.U.S. Air Force via AP
The Air Force briefly removed new recruit training courses that included videos of the Tuskegee Airmen soon after Trump’s order. That drew the White House’s ire over “malicious compliance,” and the Air Force quickly reversed the removal.
Many of the images listed in the database already have been removed. Others were still visible Thursday, and it’s not clear if they will be taken down at some point or be allowed to stay, including images with historical significance such as those of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Asked about the database, Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement, “We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. In the rare cases that content is removed that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct components accordingly.”
He noted that Hegseth has declared that “DEI is dead” and that efforts to put one group ahead of another through DEI programs erodes camaraderie and threatens mission execution.
Some images aren’t gone
In some cases, the removal was partial. The main page in a post titled “Women’s History Month: All-female crew supports warfighters” was removed. But at least one of the photos in that collection about an all-female C-17 crew could still be accessed. A shot from the Army Corps of Engineers titled “Engineering pioneer remembered during Black History Month” was deleted.
Other photos flagged in the database but still visible Thursday included images of the World War II Women Air Service Pilots and one of U.S. Air Force Col. Jeannie Leavitt, the country’s first female fighter pilot.
Pfc. Christina Fuentes Montenegro prepares to hike to her platoon’s defensive position during patrol week of Infantry Training Battalion near Camp Geiger, N.C. Oct. 31, 2013. Sgt. Tyler Main / U.S. Marine Corps via AP
Also still visible was an image of then-Pfc. Christina Fuentes Montenegro becoming one of the first three women to graduate from the Marine Corps’ Infantry Training Battalion and an image of Marine Corps World War II Medal of Honor recipient Pfc. Harold Gonsalves.
It was unclear why some other images were removed, such as a Marine Corps photo titled “Deadlift contenders raise the bar pound by pound” or a National Guard website image called “Minnesota brothers reunite in Kuwait.”
World War II Medal of Honor recipient Pfc. Harold Gonsalves during World War II.U.S. Marine Corps via AP
Why the database?
The database of the 26,000 images was created to conform with federal archival laws, so if the services are queried in the future, they can show how they are complying with the law, the U.S. official said. But it may be difficult to ensure the content was archived because the responsibility to ensure each image was preserved was the responsibility of each individual unit.
In many cases, workers are taking screenshots of the pages marked for removal, but it would be difficult to restore them if that decision was made, according to another official, who like the others spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details that were not public.
A Marine Corps official said every one of its images in the database “either has been taken down or will be taken down.” The Marines are moving on the directive as fast as possible, but as with the rest of the military, very few civilian or contractor employees at the Pentagon can perform content removal, the official said.
Staff Sgt. Krysteena Scales performs pre-flight checks before departing on a mission in a C-17 Globemaster III, March 19, 2009, at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.Senior Airman Andrew Satran / U.S. Air Force via AP
In the Marine Corps, just one defense civilian is available to do the work. The Marine Corps estimates that person has identified at least 10,000 images and stories for removal online, and after further review, 3,600 of those have been removed. The total does not count more than 1,600 social media sites that have not yet been addressed.
Many of those social media sites were military base or unit support groups created years ago and left idle. No one still has the administrative privileges to go in and change the content.
The Marine official said the service is going through each site and getting new administrative privileges so it can make the changes.
On Feb. 26, the Pentagon ordered all the military services to spend countless hours poring over years of website postings, photos, news articles and videos to remove any mentions that “promote diversity, equity and inclusion.”
If they couldn’t do that by Wednesday, they were told to “temporarily remove from public display” all content published during the Biden administration’s four years in office.
Two public school districts and several parents have sued the state in a bid to undo anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people in Pennsylvania, saying that the two-year-old regulation is illegal because it goes beyond what lawmakers intended or allowed.
The lawsuit, filed in the statewide Commonwealth Court late Thursday, comes amid a debate in Pennsylvania and nationally over the rights of transgender high school athletes to compete in women’s sports.
If the lawsuit is successful, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission would no longer be able to investigate complaints about discrimination involving sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. The plaintiffs’ lawyers also say a favorable ruling in court would bar transgender student athletes from competing in women’s high school sports in Pennsylvania.
The plaintiffs include two districts — South Side Area and Knoch, both in western Pennsylvania — and two Republican state lawmakers, Reps. Aaron Bernstine and Barbara Gleim, as well as three parents and seven students.
The lawsuit names Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, which investigates complaints about discrimination because of someone’s race, sex, religion, age or disability in housing, employment and public accommodations.
Shapiro’s office said it had no immediate comment Friday and the commission did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the lawsuit Friday.
The lawsuit is aimed at the definition of sex discrimination that the commission expanded by regulation to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
The regulation was approved in late 2022 by a separate regulatory gatekeeper agency, and it took effect in 2023.
The plaintiffs contend that the state Supreme Court has interpreted the term “sex” as used in the Pennsylvania Constitution to mean either male or female.
They also contend that the state Legislature never gave permission to the Human Relations Commission to write regulations expanding the legal definition of sex discrimination, making the regulation a violation of the Legislature’s constitutional authority over lawmaking.
The commission has justified the expanded definition by saying that state courts have held that Pennsylvania’s anti-discrimination laws are to be interpreted consistently with federal anti-discrimination law. The commission can negotiate settlements between parties or impose civil penalties, such as back pay or damages.
For years, Democratic lawmakers tried to change the law to add the terms sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression to the portfolio of complaints that the Human Relations Commission could investigate. Every time, Republican lawmakers blocked the effort.
A Senate joint resolution to oppose same-sex marriage and the 2015 Obergefell decision was tabled in the body’s Judiciary committee on Monday morning.
Republicans in the Legislature sought to pass a formal resolution that Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case that codified same-sex marriage into federal law, was “at odds with the Constitution of the United States and the principles on which the United States was established.”
Senate Joint Resolution 15, brought by Sen. Rob Phalen, R-Lindsay, did not pass on a 4-4 vote, with Republican Sen. Sue Vinton of Billings joining Democrats in opposition. The Senate Judiciary committee then tabled it on a 6-2 vote. The resolution had support from Republican leadership both in the House and the Senate.
The United States has withdrawn from the United Nations LGBTI Core Group, a collection of countries actively supporting the rights of LGBTQ+ and intersex people globally.
The U.S. withdrew from the organization on February 14, according to reporting by the Washington Blade, with no public announcement. A State Department spokesperson on Saturday confirmed the withdrawal but did not specify the specific date.
“In line with the president’s recent executive orders, we have withdrawn from the U.N. LGBTI Core Group,” the spokesperson said.
During Trump’s first term in office, his administration said it established a mission to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide. The administration was called out for its “sham” campaign that allegedly didn’t actually do anything to support the decriminalization of homosexuality, but the promise to promote decriminalization was a point of pride for the administration, often used to combat claims that the administration was proceeding with anti-LGBTQ+ actions.
The U.N. group, dedicated to “ensuring universal respect for the human rights” of LGBTI people, was formed in 2008, and includes more than 40 countries.
Chile and the Netherlands are the current co-chairs. The EU, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, and Outright International are observers.
“The overarching goal of the UN LGBTI Core Group in New York is to work within the United Nations framework on ensuring universal respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, specifically lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons, with a particular focus on protection from violence and discrimination,” the Core Group’s website details.
Member nations include Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, the Netherlands, Peru, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Timor Leste, the U.K., and Uruguay.
The Core Group counts three specific objectives in its mission: raising awareness about LGBTI issues; contributing to multilateral work and negotiations at the United Nations; and seeking common ground and engaging in “a spirit of open, respectful and constructive dialogue and cooperation with UN member states and other stakeholders outside the Core Group.”
The U.S. joined the group in the final year of the George W. Bush administration. The promotion of LGBTQ+ and intersex rights were a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris administration’s foreign policy.
In September, former First Lady Jill Biden spoke at a Core Group event on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. As vice president, Joe Biden spoke to the group at an event that coincided with the U.N. General Assembly in 2016.
Since President Trump took office in January, departments and agencies across the federal government have been subject to executive orders stripping recognition of transgender people from U.S. government policy and purging “anti-American propaganda” like drag from the public square.
Based on Trump’s “gender Ideology” order issued on his first day in office and an order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the federal government, the State Department alone has banned changes to sex markers on U.S. passports based and threatened arts organizations receiving U.S. government funds, leading to canceled exhibitions featuring LGBTQ+ and Black artists.
The shutdown of USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, has resulted in the loss of billions of dollars in aid to bipartisan programs like PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief. Advocates have called the cuts “catastrophic” for the global LGBTQ+ and intersex rights movement.
LGBTQ-related curricular laws are important for LGBTQ students’ health, well-being, and academic success. This map shows multiple distinct policies related to LGBTQ inclusion in—or exclusion from—school curricula or standards. First, LGBTQ-inclusive curricular laws explicitly require the state’s curricular standards to include LGBTQ people and history, such as in subjects like history, civics, or social studies. Harmful, exclusionary laws include older-style censorship laws that restrict how schools can discuss “homosexuality” in specific subjects; parental notification laws, which require parents to be notified in advance of any LGBTQ-related curricula and allow parents to opt their children out of those classes (or require them to opt-in); and finally more recent “Don’t Say LGBTQ” laws that explicitly censor teachers and staff from discussing LGBTQ people or issues throughout all curricula. Click “Citations & More Information” beneath the map legend for more information about all these types of laws, and learn more about the importance of inclusive curricular standards from GLSEN.
State law explicitly requires LGBTQ inclusion in state curricular standards (7 states)
State law requires state education department to create LGBTQ-inclusive model curriculum, but does not require schools to use it (1 state)
State has none of these LGBTQ-specific curricular laws (25 states , 5 territories + D.C.)
State law restricts how schools can discuss “homosexuality” in specific curricula (e.g., sex education) (see note) (4 states)
State law requires advance parental notification of any LGBTQ-related curricula and allows parents to opt their children out (or requires opt-in) (8 states)
State law explicitly censors discussions of LGBTQ people or issues throughout all school curricula (i.e., “Don’t Say LGBTQ”) (9 states)
*Notes: –In the late 1980s, amidst the HIV/AIDS crisis, states began to enact censorship laws restricting how schools could discuss “homosexuality” in specific subjects like sex or health education. In 2021, these censorship efforts saw a resurgence–and a dramatic escalation–beginning with Florida’s “Don’t Say LGBTQ” law that explicitly banned any discussion of LGBTQ people or issues throughout all school subjects, curricula, learning materials, and more. Click “Citations & More Information” above for further details and sources about each and every state. —Arkansas and Florida have both a “Don’t Say LGBTQ” law censoring discussions of LGBTQ people in schools and a parental notification law. The parental notification laws were enacted first in both states. —Louisiana has both an older-style law (enacted 1987) limiting discussion of homosexuality in specific subjects and a “Don’t Say LGBTQ” law (enacted 2024) now censoring discussions of LGBTQ people throughout all subjects and settings. –In March 2024, the state of Florida settled a lawsuit that limited the scope of the state’s “Don’t Say LGBTQ” law to instruction only. This means that students can, for example, ask questions about LGBTQ people or issues and teachers can respond, that schools can have Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs), and more. However, the ban still applies to classroom instruction, which is the focus of this map. –In December 2023, a federal judge temporarily blockedIowa‘s “Don’t Say LGBTQ” law. –Click “Citations & More Information” beneath the map legend, or the “Citations” tab above, for more information about these and all states.
Often, laws requiring LGBTQ-inclusive curricular standards also require inclusive representation of other communities like people of color, people with disabilities, and religious minorities. Learn more about the importance of inclusive curricular standards from GLSEN.
*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the LGBTQ youth (ages 13-17) population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of LGBTQ youth in the U.S. territories or under age 13 are not available, and so cannot be reflected here. Population estimates are from The Williams Institute.
25%
25 % of LGBTQ youth (ages 13-17) live in states that require inclusion of LGBTQ people/history in school curricular standards
1%
1 % of LGBTQ youth (ages 13-17) live in states that require the state education department to develop an LGBTQ-inclusive model curriculum, but do not require schools to use it
36%
36 % of LGBTQ youth (ages 13-17) live in states with none of these LGBTQ-specific curricular laws
13%
13 % of LGBTQ youth (ages 13-17) live in states that restrict how schools can discuss “homosexuality” in specific curricula (e.g., sex education) (see note beneath the map)
15%
15 % of LGBTQ youth (ages 13-17) live in states that require parental notification of any LGBTQ-related curricula and allow parents to opt their children out (or require opt-in)
20%
20 % of LGBTQ youth (ages 13-17) live in states that explicitly censor discussions of LGBTQ people or issues throughout all school curricula (i.e., “Don’t Say LGBTQ”)
Out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent allowed Donald Trump donor Elon Musk and his team access to the payment system used by the federal government. Musk is threatening to illegally stop spending mandated by Congress and has ordered the shutdown of USAID, which delivers humanitarian aid on behalf of the United States, claiming that Donald Trump wants him to. Trump does not have the authority to end USAID.
According to reporting from several media outlets, including CNN, The Washington Post, and the New York Times, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury David Lebryk has been put on leave because he tried to stop Musk and his team from getting access to the payment system and the data it uses this past Friday. Lebryk has been in charge of the system that issues payments on behalf of the federal government for the last 15 years and is known for his “unparalleled” understanding of the system, according to Rolling Stone.
“To put it bluntly, these payment systems simply cannot fail, and any politically motivated meddling in them risks severe damage to our country and the economy,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. “I am concerned that mismanagement of these payment systems could threaten the full faith and credit of the United States.”
Reuters reported that Musk and his team had locked out the civil servants whose jobs were to actually run the payment system and gave his unvetted team called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to the personal data of millions of federal employees. DOGE is not a real federal executive department, and its unvetted team includes young college graduates between the ages of 19 and 24 who have little to no governmental experience and no security clearances.
The billionaire said that he intends to cut $4 billion in federal spending per dayuntil September 30. The system that he accessed handles payments for Social Security, government salaries, tax refunds, and contractors hired by the government.
Neither Musk nor Trump have the authority to stop payments for spending ordered by Congress. It’s unclear what will happen if Musk gets the Trump adminsitration to stop payments illegally, but people could challenge his decisions in court. It’s unclear if the Trump administration would respect court decisions if they’re willing to ignore Congress’ spending decisions, and the takeover of the payment system could prevent career government employees from following court orders in defiance of Trump’s unilateral spending decisions.
This is a massive power grab, and Bessent has been key in creating this constitutional crisis. The New York Times reports that he gave Musk access to the payment system on Friday as part of an agreement, the same day that Lebryk was put on leave and then announced his sudden retirement. Bessent, an anonymous official told Politico, agreed to a plan that would give Cloud Software Group CEO Tom Krause access to the payment system to act as a liaison between Musk’s DOGE and the Treasury.
“The secretary’s approval was contingent on it being essentially a read-only operation,” the source said, referring to the code of the system that processes payments.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Musk “won’t have direct authority to stop individual payments or make other changes” under the agreement. But Musk getting access to the code of the payment system suggests that he is considering rewriting that code, and Bessent could be a willing accomplice in implementing those changes.
The payment system, run by the Bureau of Fiscal Service, is “studiously apolitical,” according to Lily Batchelder, Treasury secretary for tax policy under former President Joe Biden. This runs counter to Musk’s and Trump’s belief, according to the Wall Street Journal, that the system should be run by political appointees. Politicizing the payment system could allow Trump to bypass court decisions forcing the government to spend money authorized by Congress, removing a safeguard to Trump unilaterally — and illegally — cutting federal programs.
Musk said over the weekend on social media that the payment system had been sending money to “known fraudulent or terrorist groups,” but he didn’t provide any evidence. The Bureau of Fiscal Service has safeguards in place to prevent improper payments and it seems unlikely that Musk would have been able to spot such payments in mere hours that the Bureau hadn’t noticed in years.
He also complained that the Bureau hasn’t refused to send a payment that it was ordered to in its history, even though it does not have the legal authority to veto spending authorized by Congress.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has called for a congressional investigation into the events.
Indiana State University is being sued for First Amendment violations by an LGBTQ+ group that claims the school is refusing to let them hold a Pride festival on campus.
The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of The Pride Center of Terre Haute, claims that ISU officials have prohibited the group from hosting a 2025 Pride celebration on the university’s Quad, an outdoor student area explicitly designated for “expressive activity,” despite allowing and sponsoring the event in 2023 and 2024.
The Pride Center, an LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit dedicated to creating a positive impact on the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals in Vigo County, accuses the university of securing an agreement with the city of Terre Haute to hold this year’s festival at an off-campus city park without the group’s knowledge or consent. It maintains that holding the celebration off-campus would defeat the purpose of the event, which is to show that the campus is welcoming to LGBTQ+ students, staff, and visitors.
The Pride Center claims that this is “part of a recent pattern of ISU preventing or discouraging actions and events that are intended to support the LGBTQ+ community,” according to the lawsuit, and that the “actions of ISU in not allowing Pride Fest 2025 to occur on campus violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
“ISU’s failure to provide Pride Fest an on-campus location is directly related to the message of inclusivity, equality, and support conveyed by all Pride festivals,” ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said in a statement. “It is clear that the university is censoring Pride Fest because of its support of the LGBTQ+ community. The Pride Center has a First Amendment right to hold their festival in the Indiana State University Quad – a space explicitly designated as a place for free expression.”
