https://www.advocate.com/rss.xml en https://assets.rbl.ms/32874384/origin.png https://www.advocate.com https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/pete-hegseth-testosterone-macho U.S. Rep. Becca Balint offered a pointed queer critique of President Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new testosterone initiative Thursday, comparing the Pentagon chief’s cultivated “rugged macho man” image to the hypermasculine figures drawn by the gay erotic artist Tom of Finland.]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:37:28 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/pete-hegseth-testosterone-macho https://www.advocate.com/opinion/conor-mcgregor-god-hypocrisy Conor McGregor is a Christian now. Let’s all breathe a sigh of relief. The mixed-martial artist and former UFC champion joins Russell Brand, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, R. Kelly, Danny Masterson and others who have looked to rehabilitate their images through religious epiphany after accusations of sexual assault. These suspiciously timed spiritual awakenings always seem to take place during their trials, upon sentencing, after a verdict, or during imprisonment to faith-wash these men as former fallen angels ready for forgiveness and hopeful to get back into the public’s good favor by way of prayer and proselytizing. Religious groups always seems more than willing to welcome in men accused or convicted of sexual assault — especially if they have a huge megaphone they are willing to use.]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:00:03 EDT Josh Ackley https://www.advocate.com/opinion/conor-mcgregor-god-hypocrisy https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/kash-patel-gay-termination-lawsuit A gay former FBI employee fired over a Pride flag asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to reject the Trump administration’s effort to dismiss key parts of his lawsuit and allow him to begin seeking internal records and testimony about the decision to end his career.]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:47:52 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/kash-patel-gay-termination-lawsuit https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/jordan-wood-abolish-ice The collapse of Graham Platner’s Senate campaign has left Maine Democrats with barely any time to choose a new nominee. Jordan Wood is arguing that the party cannot move forward without first confronting what went wrong and that the fatal shooting of a Colombian man by an ICE officer this week has raised the stakes of the race even further.]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2026 07:48:01 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/jordan-wood-abolish-ice https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trump-lgbtq-foster-youth-rollback President Donald Trump’s administration has formally stripped away federal protections for LGBTQ+ children in foster care, a move that former officials, advocates, and foster youth themselves say will make life harder for young people already facing some of the highest levels of rejection, instability, and trauma in the child welfare system.]]> Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:01:16 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trump-lgbtq-foster-youth-rollback https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/pentagon-testosterone-program The Pentagon is preparing to test service members for low testosterone and offer replacement therapy when military doctors recommend it, expanding access to the same class of hormone treatment the Trump administration has cited as an unnecessary expense when provided to transgender troops.]]> Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:49:40 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/pentagon-testosterone-program https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/doj-transgender-premera-lawsuit President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is backing Premera Blue Cross in its effort to overturn a federal court ruling that found the private insurer’s restrictions on gender-affirming care discriminatory.]]> Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:26:54 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/doj-transgender-premera-lawsuit https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/kansas-university-transgender-bathroom-warning University of Kansas officials threatened disciplinary action against a transgender employee for using the women’s restroom on campus.]]> Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:59:27 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/kansas-university-transgender-bathroom-warning https://www.advocate.com/politics/ben-cline-daughters-american-revolution This story originally appeared on Them.

Seemingly unhappy with a group of women deciding to make rules for membership in their own organization, Virginia Republican Ben Cline has introduced legislation to force the Daughters of the American Revolution to ban transgender women. The bill comes less than a month after the historical society voted 1474-981 to reject a ban on trans women.]]> Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:56:13 EDT Mathew Rodriguez https://www.advocate.com/politics/ben-cline-daughters-american-revolution https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/sarah-mcbride-57-stop-tour Delaware has 10 cities, 44 towns and three villages. To launch her campaign for a second term in Congress, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, the Democrat who represents them all, visited all 57 of those incorporated communities in 57 hours.]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2026 17:34:56 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/sarah-mcbride-57-stop-tour https://www.advocate.com/news/ice-maine-texas-killings Fear, outrage, and sadness have swept through communities across the nation after two men were killed by ICE agents within the span of a week.]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:33:41 EDT Desiree Guerrero https://www.advocate.com/news/ice-maine-texas-killings https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/darline-graham-nordone-about The Republican governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, announced on Monday that Lindsey Graham’s sister would take his seat in the U.S. Senate.]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:54:11 EDT Desiree Guerrero https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/darline-graham-nordone-about https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/arizona-democrats-anti-lgbtq-campaign A Democratic congressional primary in Arizona has erupted into a fight over LGBTQ+ rights, with outside groups accusing former state Rep. Amish Shah of supporting conversion therapy and state advocates calling the attacks false. Political ads airing in Arizona attack Democrat Shah over a bill they claim would allow conversion therapy in the state. But LGBTQ+ advocates who helped craft the legislation say it did the opposite.]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:36:53 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/arizona-democrats-anti-lgbtq-campaign https://www.advocate.com/politics/mitch-mcconnell-photo-memes What amounts to a proof-of-life photo of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican, amid his extended hospital disappearance has sparked a slew of increasingly ridiculous internet memes.]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:09:00 EDT Ariel Messman-Rucker https://www.advocate.com/politics/mitch-mcconnell-photo-memes https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trump-abandons-trans-hospital-rule A flood of public opposition helped stop one of the Trump administration’s most extreme attempts to force hospitals nationwide to abandon gender-affirming care for transgender young people, offering a rare and instructive victory against a federal government that has otherwise moved aggressively to dismantle trans rights.]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:01:39 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trump-abandons-trans-hospital-rule https://www.advocate.com/opinion/lindsey-graham-gay-rumors-death Lindsey Graham’s body is still warm, and already the salacious stories are starting.]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:43:52 EDT John Casey https://www.advocate.com/opinion/lindsey-graham-gay-rumors-death https://www.advocate.com/politics/atlantis-cruise-egypt-turkey Just after midnight Friday, with the Egyptian coastline close enough to see, a harbor master radioed the Scarlet Lady one instruction: Turn around. Days earlier, Turkey had already barred the ship from two ports over "moral values." Now Egypt was withholding entry too. Aboard, roughly 1,900 LGBTQ+ travelers on an Atlantis Events charter, including Broadway star Patti LuPone, booked to perform for the group, were living out, in real time, an old message delivered in a new form: You are not welcome here.]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:48:35 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/atlantis-cruise-egypt-turkey https://www.advocate.com/opinion/ice-killed-american-dream Another day in America and another person killed by ICE. Today in Maine, a 26-year-old Colombian man who reportedly had work authorization and a young family was on his way to work when he encountered federal agents and was fatally shot.]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:47:28 EDT Josh Ackley https://www.advocate.com/opinion/ice-killed-american-dream https://www.advocate.com/politics/lindsey-graham-dead-memes Amid the country’s ongoing Mitch McConnell health watch, as the Kentucky Republican begins his second month in the hospital, news broke Sunday that his colleague, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, had died.]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:07:24 EDT Ariel Messman-Rucker https://www.advocate.com/politics/lindsey-graham-dead-memes https://www.advocate.com/politics/inside-trans-conservatives-republican-identity This story was originally published by Uncloseted Media — an LGBTQ focused investigative news outlet, in partnership with Gay Times Magazine.]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:59:17 EDT Emma Paidra https://www.advocate.com/politics/inside-trans-conservatives-republican-identity