Gage Skidmore / Official Photo / Official Photo / Official Photo / Gage Skidmore / Senator Ted Cruz / Official Photo / Gage Skidmore / Official Photo. Design by Sam Donndelinger. Subscribe nowMarco RubioTrump Administration Position: Secretary of StateStatus: Confirmed, 1/21/2024Mark Rubio Official Photos.Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives2006In an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, Marco Rubio describes his opposition for gay adoption in Florida. Kids should not be forced to be part of some social experiment, he tells the paper.United States SenatorMarch 2013During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Rubio tells the crowd, "Just because I believe that states should have the right to define marriage in the traditional way does not make me a bigot.December 2015In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network during his presidential run, Rubio saysif electedhe would appoint anti-gay-marriage justices to the Supreme Court, roll back Obama-era executive actions that protect LGBTQ people and undo laws that protect trans peoples right to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.February 2016At a campaign rally in New Hampshire, Rubio says, Marriage should be between one man and one woman.August 2016Rubio is under fire by LGBTQ advocacy groups for speaking with the Anti-Gay Florida Renewal group.August 2017Two months after the Pulse nightclub shooting that left 49 people dead, Rubio asks evangelicals to show compassion to LGBTQ people. "I want to be clear with you: Abandoning judgment and loving our LGBT neighbors is not a betrayal of what the Bible teaches. It is a fulfillment of it," he says.March 2022Rubio defends Floridas so-called Dont Say Gay bill, which bans teachings of anything related to LGBTQ issues in pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade classrooms. Raising kids is the job of parents and families, not schools. And so thats what that bill does, he says.June 2022Ahead of a Drag Queen Story Time set to be hosted by the United States Air Force Base, Rubio sends a letter requesting its cancellation. Decisions over children and their bodies should be left to moms and dads serving our nation, not mediated through publicly funded propaganda on U.S. Air Force bases The last thing parents serving their nation overseas should be worried about is whether their children are being exposed to sexually charged content." The event is ultimately cancelled largely because of pressure from Rubio.September 2022An ad for Rubios Senate reelection campaign features a video of a drag performer reading to children, overlaid by Rubio saying, The radical left will destroy children if we dont stop them They indoctrinate children, try to turn boys into girls.October 2022Rubio receives a 0/100 score on the Human Rights Campaigns Congressional Scorecard.Sen. Marco Rubio is one of the most anti-LGBTQ politicians in America and a threat to every LGBTQ person in Florida, says Human Rights Campaign National Campaign Director Geoff Wetrosky.November 2022Rubio votes against the Respect for Marriage Act, a law that codifies same-sex marriages. The law was introduced by President Biden amid worries that the conservative majority on the Supreme Court that took away the right to abortion will target same-sex marriage in the future.January 2025Following an executive order signed by Trump that declares there are only two genders, newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructs his staff to freeze all passport applications with X sex markers and changes to gender identity. The policy of the United States is that an individuals sex is not changeable, an email from the State Department read. Sex and not gender shall be used in official documents. The policy affects both current and future passport applications.RFK Jr.Trump Administration Position: Health and Human Services SecretaryStatus: Not yet confirmed. First confirmation hearing set for 1/29/2024Photo by Gage Skidmore.Environmental LawyerJanuary 2011RFK Jr. takes part in the Human Rights Campaigns New Yorkers for Marriage Equality video series. RJK Jr. says, This is the last vestige of institutionalized bigotry thats left in this country, and we need to get rid of it.June 29, 2023RFK Jr. defends his support for LGBTQ rights at a town hall meeting in Charleston, South Carolina: I dont agree with anybody who says we shouldnt respect gay rights, he says. If youre an American, you have those rights, and everybody should respect them, and Im going to do everything I can to make sure those are protected, and I always have, my whole life.June 2023On right-wing media commentator Jordan Petersons podcast, RFK Jr. discusses endocrine disruptors in the water being the potential cause of young people becoming trans. I think a lot of the problems we see in kids, and particularly boys, its probably underappreciated how much of that is coming from chemical exposures, including a lot of sexual dysphoria Theyre swimming through a soup of toxic chemicals today. And many of those are endocrine disruptors.On Joe Rogans podcast, RFK Jr. suggests that poppers could be the cause of the transmission of AIDS. He promotes a Peter H. Duesberg theory, who is a prominent AIDS denialist. HIV was a kind of free rider that was also associated with overlapping lifestyle exposures, RFK Jr. tells Rogan. In reference to Duesberg and other AIDS denialists, RFK Jr. says, They argued that the initial signals of AIDS, Kaposis sarcoma and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, were both strongly linked to amyl nitrite poppers a popular drug among promiscuous gays.July 2023RFK Jr. says in an interview with Fox Carolina News, I think anyone who is transgender should be respected. But I also think parents should have the final say.Democratic representative from Virginia, Gerald E. Connolly, holds a hearing to discuss RFK Jr.s beliefs that are vile, disgusting, racist, bigoted, antisemitic, anti-gay, anti-science and riddled with conspiracy theories. By promoting Mr. Kennedy, Republicans are deliberately providing a platform to amplify hate speech.May 2024At a campaign rally in Austin, Texas, RFK Jr. opposes gender-affirming care and backs a ban on certain treatments for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused, accountability journalism.Pete HegsethTrump Administration Position: Defense SecretaryStatus: Confirmed, 1/24/2024Pete Hegseth Official Photo.Early LifeApril 2002While Pete Hegseth serves as publisher of Princetons conservative campus newspaper, The Princeton Tory, an editors note titled The Rant outlines the publications anti-gay views. The movement to legitimize the homosexual lifestyle and homosexual marriages is strong and must be vigorously opposed Homosexuals themselves should not be demonized; however, their lifestyle deserves absolutely no special legal status.Pete Hegseths Notes from the Publisher via The Princeton TorySeptember 2002The Princeton Tory ranters express concerns about newspaper coverage of gay weddings. At what point does the paper deem a relationship unfit for publication? What if we loved our sister and wanted to marry her? Or maybe two women at the same time? A 13-year-old? The family dog?Political Commentator for Fox NewsJune 4, 2024In his book, The War on Warriors, Hegseth criticizes the repeal of Dont Ask Dont Tell. He also writes unfavorably about gay people serving in the military, arguing that their inclusion reflects a Marxist agenda that prioritizes social justice over combat readiness: Not because I have a newfound ax to grind with gay Americans But because I navely believed thats what ending Dont Ask Dont Tell was all about. Once again, our good faith was used against us. The Left never gives an inch and always takes a mile.Jan. 14, 2025During Hegseths Senate confirmation hearing, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand grills him about his contentious views about gays serving in the military. Gillibrand also condemns Hegseths suggestion that addressing LGBTQ inclusion undermines the military. To denigrate LGBTQ service members is a mistake, she says.In response, Hegseth says, Senator, as the President has stated, I dont disagree with the overturn of Dont Ask, Dont Tell.Pam BondiTrump Administration Position: Attorney GeneralStatus: Not yet confirmedOfficial Photo Attorney General Pam Bondi.ProsecutorAugust 2010At a forum sponsored by the anti-LGBTQ Christian Family Coalition, Pam Bondi pledges to oppose gay marriage as attorney general of Florida. In an email to Politifact clarifying her position, Bondi says, As Floridas next attorney general, I will vigorously defend [the] law banning gay adoption in our state.Attorney General of FloridaMay 2014Bondi submits a request to a federal judge asking for a marriage equality case, which would allow same-sex Floridians the right to marry, to be thrown out. She says forcing Florida to recognize same-sex marriages would impose public harm and create significant problems for the states pension and health insurance program.August 2014Bondi files a motion to freeze an appeal by six same-sex couples challenging Floridas ban on gay marriage.December 2014Tampa Bay Times, Floridas largest daily newspaper, names Bondi loser of the year and compares her to a modern-day Anita Bryant because of her relentless defense of Florida's gay marriage ban.June 2016Bondi oversees the investigation of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, where 49 people were murdered. In an interview with Anderson Cooper, Bondi says, People right now who are partners, who arent married, officially, arent able to get information. So we are trying to assist them in getting information. In response, Cooper challenges Bondi: Had there been no gay marriage you do realize that boyfriends and girlfriends of the dead would not be able to get information and would not be able to probably get a visit in the hospital here. Isnt there a sick irony in that?October 2017In an ideological pivot, Bondi backs the Florida Competitive Workforce Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. I havent read the bill, but of course, its something that I would support, she says. Three years later, the bill dies.Private Citizen, Registered Foreign Agent and Lobbyist for the Qatari Embassy Bondi attending AFPI conference. Office of Representative Mike Johnson.August 2023In a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, Bondi compares LGBTQ youth who are out at school but not to their parents to hiding that they were sexually abused or that they are struggling with heroin addiction.U.S. Attorney General NomineeJanuary 2025During her Senate Confirmation hearing to become President Trumps attorney general, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff asks Bondi if she will defend and respect marriage equality. I will respect the law. Absolutely, she says.Kristi NoemTrump Administration Position: Secretary of Homeland SecurityStatus: Confirmed, 1/25/2024Kristi Noem Official Photo.South Dakota House Representative June 2015In reaction to Hodges v Obergfell, Kristi Noem releases a statement saying she disagrees with the ruling and that she believes marriage is a special bond between a man and a woman. In 2022, she doubles down during a roundtable discussion with Young Americas Foundation. [I have] never supported gay marriage. A lot of my faith has to do with that.Screenshot via Young Americas Foundation.Governor of South DakotaMarch 2021Noem supports HB 1217, a bill that would bar transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams. However, she later vetoes the bill, fearing a legal battle with the NCAA. The NCAA is a private association. That means they can do what they want to do. And even though I fundamentally disagree with them when it comes to this issue, if South Dakota passes a law thats against their policy, they will likely take punitive action against us.In response to backlash from her veto, Noem signs two executive orders that ban transgender girls and women from participating on womens sports teams in public high schools and colleges across South Dakota.Also in March, Noem signs the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allows discrimination against LGBTQ people on the grounds of religious beliefs.February 2022Noem signs an anti-trans bill into law that effectively bans transgender students from playing on the sports team that matches their gender identity.February 2023Noem signs HB 1080, which bans age-appropriate and medically necessary gender-affirming care for youth in South Dakota, into law.February 2024The Transformation Project, a trans advocacy organization that was working on a government project in South Dakota, comes to a legal settlement with Noem and her health secretary after the state had unfairly terminated a contract with them based on what they called national politics. South Dakota publicly apologizes and pays $300,000 to the trans advocates.Subscribe nowLinda McMahonTrump Administration Position: Secretary of EducationStatus: Not yet confirmedLinda McMahon Offical Photo.WWE President and CEO1980-2009Linda McMahon, who co-founded the WWE with her husband Vince McMahon, pushes several homophobic and transphobic storylines on their programs, some of which include queer-coded fighters who perpetuate stereotypes that gay men are predatory and other wrestlers who shout transphobic slurs.Senate Candidate 2010While running to become a Republican senator in Connecticut, McMahon supports the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that denies same-sex couples the benefits and recognition given to heterosexual couples.October 2012On the campaign trail, McMahon flips and says, I absolutely support Americas law for same-sex marriage. She claims her position on the issue has been evolving.Photo by Michael Vadon.PAC Leader September 2021McMahon serves as the head of the America First Policy Institute, which penned the America First Agenda, a competing version of the Heritage Foundations Project 2025. On its site, the institute publishes articles denouncing trans rights, including one titled Radical Gender Ideology is Transforming American Society, and AFPI is Fighting Back.March 2024McMahon writes a Fox News Op-Ed criticizing President Bidens proposed diversity, equity and inclusion mandates.U.S. Secretary of Education NomineeNovember 2024The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, GLSEN, releases a statement in response to McMahons nomination for Education Secretary: McMahons lack of expertise in education, paired with Trumps focus on so-called parents rights and school choice, signals a continued push to strip critical protections for LGBTQ+ students and historically marginalized communities.Scott BessentTrump Administration Position: Treasury SecretaryStatus: Not yet confirmed. Final vote set for 1/27/2024Photo by Senator Ted Cruz.Early Life1995At 17, Bessent wants to attend the U.S. Naval Academy after his father faces financial hardship. However, Bessent is unwilling to lie about his sexual orientation, so he is not allowed to enroll in the program because it is still following Dont Ask, Dont Tell laws.1990s-2000sBessent sits on the board of Gods Love We Deliver, a nonprofit founded in the 1980s that helps deliver meals to people with HIV/AIDS. (Exact dates not known)Bessent openly supports the Elton John AIDS Foundation. (Exact dates not known)U.S. Treasury Department NomineeNov. 24, 2024Trump nominates Bessent to lead the U.S. Treasury Department, making him the first openly LGBTQ person nominated for the position and putting him on track to make history as the nation's highest-ever ranking LGBTQ official.Jan. 21, 2025Bessents nomination advances past a key Senate committee, teeing up his likely confirmation with a full floor vote in the coming days.Susie WilesTrump Administration Position: Chief of StaffStatus: Assumed Office 1/20/2024 (Not Required to Face Confirmation)Susie Wiles Official Photo.Campaigner Susie Wiles1980Susie Wiles works as a scheduler for Ronald Reagans presidential campaign. The Reagan administration would go on to be hostile towards LGBTQ people during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in which 89,343 Americans died from the virus during his presidency.2018Wiles helps run Ron DeSantis gubernatorial campaign. The DeSantis administration would go on to pass a bevy of anti-LGBTQ legislation, including the infamous so-called Dont Say Gay law.Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz.PAC Leader Wiles September 2022As CEO of Donald Trumps Save America political action committee, Wiles oversees a $1 million donation to the America First Policy Institute, a group that has published numerous anti-trans articles and policy proposals.2024Former mayor of Jacksonville, John Delaney, says in an interview, [Wiles] would be what Id call left on LGBT+ issues, and I cant believe she would necessarily agree naturally with Donald Trump on immigration, but thats more me speculating.Additional reporting by Sam Donndelinger. If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media