Politics
Trump Cabinet member scraps Obama-era gender identity housing rule, cites ‘biological reality’
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Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner has ordered an immediate halt to enforcement of a key Obama-era housing rule tied to gender identity, directing the agency to operate programs based on biological sex.
The directive stops any pending or future enforcement of HUD’s 2016 Equal Access Rule, which expanded gender identity as formally recognized in federally-funded housing programs and shelters.
The move marks a significant shift in how shelters and HUD-funded providers operate, particularly those serving women fleeing domestic violence, and implements President Donald Trump’s executive order to restore what the administration calls “biological truth” across the federal government.
“I am directing HUD staff to halt any pending or future enforcement actions related to HUD’s 2016 Equal Access Rule, which, in essence, tied housing programs, shelters and other facilities funded by HUD to far-left gender ideology,” Turner said.
TRUMP STOPPED BIDEN’S PLAN TO FORCE DEI ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES
President Donald Trump stands with HUD Secretary Scott Turner at an event. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“We, at this agency, are carrying out the mission laid out by President Trump on Jan. 20 … to restore biological truth to the federal government,” he added.
“This means recognizing there are only two sexes: male and female. It means getting government out of the way of what the Lord established from the beginning when he created man in His own image.”
The 2016 rule allowed people to self-identify for gender when accessing certain housing services, limiting the ability of shelters to challenge that identification.
Critics of the rule argued it restricted the rights of shelters, particularly those serving women impacted by trauma, domestic abuse and violence, by requiring them to admit individuals based on gender identity rather than biological sex.
JUDGE FORCES CA HOSPITAL TO KEEP TRANS TREATMENTS FOR MINORS DESPITE TRUMP FUNDING THREAT
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development nominee Scott Turner testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Jan. 16, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
Turner framed the move as part of a broader overhaul of HUD policy and spending.
“Moreover, this is just the first of many examples of how, starting on day one, HUD is going back to work for the American people and being a good steward of taxpayer dollars,” he said. “There will be more where this came from.”
The Equal Access Rule was first introduced in 2012, prohibiting discrimination in HUD-funded programs based on sexual orientation, gender identity and marital status. A 2016 update expanded those protections by requiring programs to recognize gender identity as well.
President Donald Trump and HUD Secretary Scott Turner attend a reception with Republican members of Congress in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg)
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Turner’s order does not repeal the rule but halts enforcement tied to the 2016 expansion.
“As I have said before, we are going to take inventory of HUD’s programs and ensure every dollar that goes out the door is advancing HUD’s mission, which is to provide quality, affordable homes for communities across the country — urban, rural and tribal — and promote economic investment to build stronger communities and a brighter future for all Americans,” Turner said.
Politics
Video: Trump Claims Deal With Iran Is Close and Retracts Threat to Attack
new video loaded: Trump Claims Deal With Iran Is Close and Retracts Threat to Attack
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Trump Claims Deal With Iran Is Close and Retracts Threat to Attack
President Trump said he had canceled the next wave of attacks on Iran after two days of U.S. airstrikes, claiming that peace negotiations had progressed.
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Most importantly, we have a deal that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, which was the whole purpose of what we had to go through to get this. So it was a big, very big thing. The strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be soon, very soon, maybe over the weekend. In Europe, I won’t be able to be there, but JD will be there — vice president and some of the people.
By Meg Felling, James McManagan and Julie Yoon
June 11, 2026
Politics
Mamdani touts massive taxpayer-funded investment for trans healthcare: ‘First step’
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As part of the Pride Month celebration on Tuesday evening, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani touted the work his administration has done to expand services for LGBTQ+ communities, calling New York City a “haven” for people with alternative gender identities.
In particular, Mamdani doubled down on promises of $15 million in funding for trans communities.
“The threats will continue and so will our relentless protection of trans people across this city,” Mamdani said, referring to challenges he said LGBTQ+ communities face.
“As a first step, my administration has made a $15 million investment in gender affirming care over the next two years, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to make sure every trans and gender non-conforming New Yorker can live with the dignity, safety and freedom they deserve.”
MAMDAMI MARKS PRIDE MONTH, SAYS HONORING ‘QUEER AND TRANSGENDER’ CONTRIBUTIONS WOULD TAKE MORE THAN 30 DAYS
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a May Day rally at Washington Square Park in New York City on May 1, 2026. On Monday, Mamdani called for ICE to be abolished following the arrest of an illegal immigrant. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
Mamdani’s speech builds on similar efforts in other cities and looks to follow through on campaign promises Mamdani made on the road to his mayoral victory.
It’s unclear where, exactly, the $15 million request is being allocated from or how it will be disbursed as New York City Council members continue consideration of the 2027 budget.
Progressive-led subsidized transgender initiatives have also advanced in San Francisco.
Like New York, San Francisco established an Office of Transgender Initiatives and, through its Department of Public Health, has funded guidance for hormone therapy, surgery and mental health case management.
MASSACHUSETTS TOWN VOTES TO BECOME A TRANSGENDER ‘SANCTUARY CITY’ AFTER WILD CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers his 100 Days Address outlining progress on his core campaign promises in Queens, New York City, on April 12, 2026. (David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Reuters)
If implemented, Mamdani’s initiative would go further, directly funding procedures.
Despite pushing the envelope on city-led programs for trans services, the New York funding falls short of the vision Mamdani painted while on the campaign trail.
“The Mamdani administration will budget $65 million in funding to explicitly support and expand access to Gender Affirming Care (GAC) in NYC,” Mamdani’s campaign website read.
That plan detailed that up to $57 million would go to public hospitals, community clinics, health centers and non-profits that could perform procedures.
Although Mamdani’s plan for the $15 million remains hazy, he said his support of the LGBTQ community was proven — and would only grow.
GRAMMY-WINNING MUSICIAN FIGHTS TRUMP’S TRANS EXECUTIVE ORDER BY DONATING TO PEOPLE SEEKING GENDER SURGERIES
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani attends the 2025 New York City Pride March on June 29, 2025 in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
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“As your mayor, I was proud to establish New York City’s first-ever office of LGBTQIA+ affairs within the first 100 days of our administration,” Mamdani said.
“This office focuses on the well-being of queer New Yorkers so that you know you have a champion and advocate within city government.”
Politics
House Democrats ask new ICE director to roll back policy limiting oversight visits
WASHINGTON — Dozens of House Democrats are asking the new director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to roll back a policy that they say hinders their ability to speak with detainees during oversight visits.
The new policy requires that lawmakers identify detainees by name at least two business days before a visit and provide a signed consent form from each detainee. It’s the latest point of conflict in an ongoing battle over when and how lawmakers can inspect immigration facilities.
In a letter Thursday to acting ICE Director David Venturella, Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano) and 77 other members of Congress, including two dozen from California, argued that they need to conduct constant oversight of immigration facilities because of historic levels of reports regarding the mistreatment of detainees, deaths in custody and substandard facility conditions.
“This Administration has enabled a revolving door of arbitrary policies, directives, and guidance on member access to facilities or on communication with detainees designed to hinder any productive oversight,” they wrote.
The letter was written in response to the new policy, which was outlined in a memo last month.
In the letter, Levin and the other members wrote that detainees have a hard time accessing the visitation form because it is at times unavailable at a detention center’s law library. They said it limits their ability to speak broadly with detainees, particularly those from vulnerable populations, such as the elderly.
Detainees previously used a sign-up sheet to meet with members of Congress or just started talking to detainees they encountered during facility tours.
In the memo outlining ICE’s new policy, then-acting director Todd Lyons said the increased visits by members of Congress have become a burden and a time suck. Homeland Security didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment, but previously said that the policy doesn’t prevent lawmakers from speaking with detainees.
Levin said the increase in visits was necessary because the agency slashed staffing of its oversight offices. The letter notes that for next fiscal year, the president requested additional cuts to the Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.
“These actions, coupled with the constant changes to policies surrounding member access to facilities, reveal a clear attack on the levers that ensure government transparency at every level,” the members wrote.
Democratic House members sued the Trump administration last July after they were repeatedly denied access to immigrant detention facilities in California and across the country.
Homeland Security officials previously implemented a policy requiring lawmakers to give seven days’ notice before a visit, but that policy was temporarily blocked in federal court.
This week, lawyers said a Belizean man who helped organize hunger strikes at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center was moved to facilities out of state and scheduled to be deported after he spoke to three members of Congress about conditions at the detention center in San Bernardino County.
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