Former President Donald Trump is once again turning transgender people into political targets, this time by linking our existence to the risk of a government shutdown. In recent posts on his social media platform, Trump accused Democrats of “holding American Citizens hostage” and claimed they were pushing “Radical Left Policies” in exchange for keeping the government funded. Among the policies he singled out were access to gender-affirming care, protections for transgender youth, and inclusion in sports.
Democrats quickly pushed back. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries dismissed Trump’s remarks as “unhinged,” noting that transgender issues are unrelated to the fundamental work of passing appropriations bills. The actual budget debate centers on a series of spending proposals, but Trump’s choice to spotlight trans rights reframes the conversation around culture wars rather than fiscal policy.
Beneath the rhetoric, the stakes are significant. Draft appropriations language includes riders that would prohibit the use of federal funds for any intervention designed to help a person align their body with their gender identity. This would cut off access to gender affirming care across multiple programs. The same package also proposes a $1.7 billion reduction in HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment funding. In addition, lawmakers have floated measures that would bar federal employees’ health plans from covering surgeries, hormone therapy, or puberty blockers, while restricting prison placements and medical care for incarcerated trans people.
These provisions reveal the true danger of Trump’s framing. By casting trans healthcare as a partisan bargaining chip, the debate suggests our rights are negotiable rather than fundamental. It also feeds a broader narrative that trans people are to blame for dysfunction in Washington. That scapegoating not only distracts from the real policy details but also places communities at greater risk by normalizing attacks on our legitimacy.
For the public, the danger lies in how easily these narratives spread. Most people will not dig into the text of appropriations bills. Instead, they will hear simplified claims that the “trans agenda” is holding up government funding. This distortion erodes understanding of what is actually being negotiated while hiding the true consequences: the loss of healthcare, civil rights, and safety protections for vulnerable communities.
What happens next will determine whether these riders survive into final legislation. Some may be stripped out in negotiations, but only if there is enough pressure from advocates, journalists, and allies who refuse to let misinformation stand. Even if the federal proposals fail, the rhetoric itself emboldens lawmakers at the state level to push copycat bans and further restrictions.
At its core, this budget fight is not about dollars and cents. It is about whether trans lives are treated as expendable in the political process. When leaders position our rights as the reason for gridlock, they reduce us to bargaining chips. Trans rights are civil rights, and they should never be used as political currency.
