WASHINGTON – New analysis done by the Human Rights Campaign lays bare the stark contrast between the impacts of federal agencies under former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden on the LGBTQ+ community. Across all areas of work, the evidence makes clear that one administration had a clear positive impact on LGBTQ+ Americans, while the other was detrimental.

“The analysis makes clear what we have seen across the country,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “Actions have consequences. Time and again, the Trump Administration ushered in policies and positions that did damage to LGBTQ+ lives. Meanwhile, in their first term, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken steps to make our lives better. Federal agencies take actions that impact nearly every aspect of our lives. And Americans deserve a government that steps up to defend freedom and equality for all.”

The research breaks agency impacts down by category and places the two administrations in relief. For example, during the Trump Administration, agencies rescinded many existing rules and guidance that affirmed legal protections for LGBTQ+ people. And in many cases, agencies communicated that they would no longer accept civil rights complaints based on sexual orientation and gender identity. However, during the Biden-Harris Administration, agencies across the government worked to implement a recent Supreme Court decision finding that LGBTQ+ people are protected from sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination under existing protections against sex discrimination, doing so across dozens of federal civil rights laws.

“Across the country, LGBTQ+ people are living through an unprecedented state of emergency,” explained Human Rights Campaign Senior Legislative Counsel Luis A. Vasquez. “The federal government, through its administrative agencies, is uniquely equipped to respond to this reality and step up to protect LGBTQ+ people, including through enforcing existing federal laws that can counter devastating anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies spreading throughout the country. We prepared this research to give the public a clear assessment on the impact of agencies under both administrations on LGBTQ+ people – and provide insight on what future administrative actions could be taken to advance or even undermine equality.”

The full report is available here.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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