Democrats Fought a Trump Policy on Transgender Homeless People. Will They Again?

“When Ben Carson, Donald Trump’s first housing and urban development secretary, proposed a rule in 2019 allowing single-sex homeless shelters to turn away transgender people, congressional Democrats were furious.

“The Biden administration withdrew the Carson proposal — committing instead to follow an Obama-era regulation that banned federally funded facilities from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity — but trans-rights activists are bracing for Trump’s next HUD secretary to try to finish what Carson started. This time though, it’s unclear how much Democrats would push back if the agency takes similar actions.”

“Democrats who spoke with NOTUS were split on whether the party should now prioritize the needs of transgender homeless people in the coming Trump administration, given it’s likely the rule will be reintroduced.”

“‘What we saw during the Trump administration was their attempt to kind of remove trans people and access to trans people from an array of government programs and services. And I think that housing was, of course, one of them,’ said Imara Jones, a journalist and trans activist. ‘They had a dry run in the first administration. They’re going to be able to move much more quickly and in a much more focused fashion because they already had a go at it.’”