1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

I am writing to you as your constituent to urge you to hold firm against any appropriations bills that include anti-transgender provisions, regardless of shutdown threats or political pressure. As reported, President Trump has made the inclusion of anti-LGBTQ+ riders a central demand in current appropriations negotiations, even threatening to cancel negotiations unless Democrats abandon protections for transgender Americans. The provisions embedded across multiple bills—including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill, the Commerce, Justice, and Science bill, and others—represent some of the most sweeping attacks on transgender rights we have seen at the federal level. These riders would: - Ban federal funding for gender-affirming healthcare at any age, potentially stripping Medicaid and Medicare coverage from transgender patients - Threaten hospitals with loss of federal funding for providing transgender care - Implement nationwide sports bans affecting transgender students - Remove protections for LGBTQ+ foster children - Force transgender women into men’s prisons - Strip healthcare coverage from federal employees and their families - Even prohibit Pride flags in federal facilities These provisions go far beyond the “parental rights” or “fairness in sports” framing often used to justify them. They represent a systematic effort to erase transgender people from public life and deny basic healthcare access to some of our most vulnerable community members. I am asking you to: 1. Vote against any appropriations bill that includes anti-transgender rider, even if it risks a government shutdown 2. Use every procedural tool available to strip these provisions from funding bills 3. Speak publicly about your commitment to protecting transgender constituents The NDAA fight, where anti-transgender provisions were allowed to pass with some Democratic support, cannot be repeated. This is a defining moment for Democratic leadership on LGBTQ+ rights. Transgender Americans—including children, veterans, federal employees, and their families—are counting on you to stand firm. A government shutdown, while disruptive, is temporary. But allowing these anti-transgender provisions to become law would cause lasting harm to real people in our communities. The choice is clear: stand with transgender Americans or enable their systematic exclusion from society. I urge you to be a leader in this fight. Your transgender and LGBTQ+ constituents need to know you will not compromise their basic rights and dignity for political expediency. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your response and to seeing your leadership in protecting all Americans’ civil rights.