Lawmakers Are Rising to Defend Trans Kids Following Trump’s Election Victory

This blog is originally appeared at Them.

“‘I will always stand with trans people and the entire LGBTQ+ community. This Congresswoman sees you and loves you,’ said Rep. Ayanna Pressley.”

It’s clear that a potential second term for Donald Trump would have devastating consequences for queer and trans Americans.

The accused rapist and his party have been outspoken in their opposition to trans rights. According to data from Ad Impact, reported by Washington Post’s Casey Parks on November 5, Republicans spent nearly $215 million on anti-trans ads during the 2024 election cycle. On Trump’s 2024 campaign website, he pledged to redefine gender at the federal level, recognizing only male and female as assigned at birth, and to push for a nationwide ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

To make matters worse, Democrats like New York Rep. Tom Suozzi and Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton chose to scapegoat trans people for their party’s failure to win the presidency, House, or Senate.

Despite the troubling implications of the 2024 elections, many Democratic politicians have made it clear that supporting the trans community is a top priority, regardless of what the next four years bring.

From calling out transphobia within their own party to working to enshrine LGBTQ+ protections at the state level, these leaders are standing up for trans rights.

Gov. JB Pritzker and State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (Illinois)
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker reaffirmed his commitment to LGBTQ+ Americans in a tweet, declaring that Illinois would remain “a refuge for those whose rights are denied elsewhere.”

Pritzker went on to specifically highlight the communities he’s standing with, including “those seeking reproductive healthcare, immigrants working hard for a better life, LGBTQ+ Americans looking for protection, and people with disabilities whose civil and human rights are under attack.

Meanwhile, Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy recently told the Chicago Sun-Times that a coalition of state lawmakers has been working to protect access to trans and reproductive healthcare since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Now, this coalition is examining Project 2025 to assess what additional protections they can put in place in the near future.

Cassidy mentioned that one key issue the coalition hopes to address before the fall legislative session concludes is the use of geolocators to track individuals who access healthcare facilities.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (California)

On November 7, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a special session of the California Legislature, set to begin on December 2. This session will focus on strengthening California’s legal resources to safeguard climate action, civil rights, immigrant families, and reproductive freedom in response to Trump’s reelection.

According to a release from Newsom’s office, this special session is a direct response to the public statements and proposals made by President-elect Trump and his advisors, as well as actions taken during his first term. These efforts, Newsom’s office warns, could threaten essential freedoms and individual rights, including women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights.

In 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed nine LGBTQ+ rights bills into law in just a few days, despite vetoing a bill that would have provided stronger protections for trans children in custody and visitation cases. Earlier this year, he also signed the Support Academic Future and Educators for Today’s Youth Act (SAFETY Act), which prohibits schools from implementing policies that require staff to out students to their parents. The law also mandates the California Department of Education to create resources for LGBTQ+ students and their families.

Salem City Councilor Kyle Davis (Massachusetts)
Salem, Massachusetts City Councilor Kyle Davis called out Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton in a series of X posts after Moulton made transphobic remarks to the New York Times.

In an interview with the Times on November 7, Moulton stated, “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete. But as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”

The following day, Davis responded strongly on X, not holding back in his critique.

‘Resign @sethmoulton,’” he tweeted on November 8. Shortly after, he followed up with a second post, stating, “I’m not looking for an apology from @sethmoulton, I’m looking for a resignation.

On November 11, Davis posted a gif of a woman named Jenn holding the progress Pride flag, with the caption, ‘@Sethmoulton represents this district. He does not represent me.’

The city councilor went on to question the timing of Moulton’s remarks in an interview with the Boston Globe last week.

“With all the things Trump has said about trans people, this is a time when the trans community is feeling a lot of fear,” Davis said.

State Senator Jamie Eldridge (Massachusetts)
Massachusetts Senator Jamie Eldridge also spoke out against Moulton’s transphobic comments. On November 8, Eldridge took to X to share a link to a Boston Globe article highlighting local Democrats who were condemning Moulton’s remarks.

As a legislator fighting for #LGBTQ rights—from marriage equality to #transgender rights to the #ParentageAct—and with pride in Massachusetts being a welcoming state, I condemn Cong. Moulton’s comments on transgender athletes,” Eldridge wrote. “@MassDems do not abandon our values.”

Rep. Becca Balint (Vermont)
Vermont Rep. Becca Balint succinctly summed up the sentiment in a November 9 X post, writing, “Leave trans kids alone.

When Balint was elected in 2022, she made history as the first openly LGBTQ+ person and the first woman elected to Congress from Vermont.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts)
Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley reinforced her commitment to the trans and LGBTQ+ communities in a November 10 X post, reaffirming her unwavering support.

This election wasn’t the first time we’ve seen the trans community scapegoated and dehumanized, but know this: I will always stand with trans people and the entire LGBTQ+ community,” she wrote. “This Congresswoman sees you and loves you.

Attorney General Rob Bonta (California)
On November 5, California Attorney General Rob Bonta—who, last year, sued a school district in his state to block a policy requiring teachers to out trans students to their parents—told Cal Matters that his office is already preparing legal challenges to the incoming Trump administration. Bonta’s team has preemptively drafted briefs and tested arguments to counter policies they anticipate Trump will push during his second term, including those that could undermine civil rights for trans youth.

“Unfortunately, it’s a long list [of issues],” the attorney general said. “We are and have been for months developing strategies for all of those things.”