Ok. So there's A LOT of misinformation about the government shutdown, the continuing resolution and gender-affirming care. There was one article in PinkNews that was VERY shoddy about what Trump said. So let's breakdown what's true and what's BS. 1/ thepinknews.com
www.thepinknews.com
Here is the text for the continuing resolution. It's a "clean CR," which just keeps spending levels as is and has no major policy changes. If you scroll through, you can see there is nothing related to restricting gender-affirming care for trans people. congress.gov
www.congress.gov
So where did PinkNews get the idea that Trump wanted to cancel gender-affirming care? It came from this below Truth Social post wherein Trump said that Democrats want to "force taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors." 3/ bsky.app
Trump cancels his meeting with Democrats ahead of a potential government shutdown.
This is not the same as Trump demanding Democrats agree to his terms or demand that they vote for cutting gender-affirming care. The CR that Republicans want simply keeps spending at current levels so they can continue negotiating on the spending bills between the House and Senate. Now, make no mistake. Republicans DO want to cut gender-affirming care in the spending bills. Congress needs to pass 12 spending bills to fund the government for the full fiscal year. The CR is just a stopgap to buy time while Congress writes the budget. 4/ And to be certain, this is in the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies spending bill that made it through committee on a party-line vote. As you can see, this DOES prohibit federal $ from going to gender-affirming care for trans people bsky.app
NEWS: House Appropriations Committee Republicans released their spending bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. The legislation would prohibit taxpayer dollars for any type of gender-affirming care for transgender people. This would include programs like Medicaid
So these spending bills are for the upcoming fiscal year. And the Senate version that made it through committee, as you can see, does NOT have that language. The House and Senate will ultimately need to create compromise language. congress.gov
www.congress.gov
So why do I say this? I'm not oblivious to the risks to care for trans people in federal spending bills. -I wrote how Republicans were teeing up to do it in 2024 with @iododds.bsky.social independent.co.uk And during the OBBBA independent.co.uk
www.independent.co.uk
But accuracy matters, especially for a vulnerable population like transgender people, who are already afraid as is. Spreading misinformation for such a vulnerable community is not just grifting: it's shouting "fire" in a crowded theater. This population is already vulnerable and transgender people read the news just like everyone else. So for a news site catering to LGBTQ+ spreading misinformation does can actively increase harm, which goes against our core tenets as journalists. This is why you should listen to only to people who understand the federal appropriations process. This isn't to wave off the real risks to gender-affirming care AT ALL. It's to just say this is a different fight from the current government shutdown showdown at hand. TL;DR, the current CR doesn't have any risks to gender-affirming care. But the upcoming spending fight will and it's important to differentiate between the two, especially when it's information for a vulnerable population. Our job should be to seek truth and report it and minimize harm.