Amid uncertainty, D.C. queer organizers plan for Trump administration

When around a hundred people gathered in a room at the downtown Eaton Hotel in mid-December, one thing was on every attendees’ mind: How Donald Trump’s recent election will affect D.C.'s queer community. 

The room was loud with chatter as attendees waited for the panel, featuring seven LGBTQ+ rights advocates, to begin. Some greeted those they knew or recognized. An air of familiarity filled the space. 

“Our conversation is hopefully a way to talk to the public about some of the advocacy we’re doing, but also…what’s coming down the pike,” Heidi Ellis, who moderated the event and coordinates the LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, tells The 51st in an interview. “We’re seeing that we have to work really hard right now to fortify some of the programs that we need,” she says, referencing challenges posed by D.C. home rule, funding concerns, and other emerging needs.

Organizers described the event as the first in a series designed to bring the queer community together and plan for what’s next in light of a second Trump presidency and a Republican majority in Congress, which has garnered significant fear among queer communities across the country.  

During his campaign, President-elect Trump spent over $20 million on ads vilifying trans people and promised to pursue significant anti-LGBTQ+ policies. According to the Trevor Project, which provides a national crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, the day after the election saw a nearly 700% increase in people reaching out to the group compared to weeks prior. Hateful rhetoric and state legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community have been accompanied by a significant increase in hate crimes against the queer community over the last several years.  

When compared to U.S. states, D.C. has the largest percentage of residents who identify as LGBTQ+ in the country. Some organizers, like Ellis, worry that the District’s lack of statehood and full ability to govern itself could present additional challenges for protecting the city’s queer residents under a potentially hostile administration.

During the discussion, panelists such as Ava Benach, an immigration attorney with Benach Collopy law firm, and Tyler Cargill, an outreach and training specialist at the D.C. Office of Human Rights, emphasized the importance of sharing information and resources as well as staying informed of what’s coming down the pipeline — on both the federal and local levels. 

Benach suggested attendees learn how to protect their communities during immigration raids, while Cargill described efforts from the Office of Human Rights to make their LGBTQIA+ resource portal more accessible — particularly ahead of World Pride 2025 — so people can reliably file claims and access resources if they experience discrimination.

As the January 20 inauguration approaches, organizers are collectively grappling with their response to heightened community concerns, while unsure of what the upcoming months will bring. Despite the many obstacles identified, panelists shared messages of strength. “Because we are so resilient is why attacks keep coming,” one speaker said. 

“Generally in the community, we’re just having these conversations and trying to better leverage resources so that we’re walking in lockstep,” says Ellis.

Local queer organizers and LGBTQ+ service providers who spoke to The 51st say they’ve seen an increased demand for legal services, gender-affirming care, and mental health support, as well as fears for physical safety and the need for community.

Whitman-Walker Health, an organization that provides healthcare and legal support services to the LGBTQ+ community, has seen a significant increase in requests for legal support, says Amy Nelson, director of legal services. Many people need help securing and updating their identity documents, like social security cards and passports, with the correct name and gender markers. 

“We are working hard to not meet panic with panic,” says Nelson. “That is our motto in legal services right now.” 

Nelson says the clinic is in conversation with other providers and pro bono lawyers to help coordinate support. One of those groups, Trans Maryland, will offer a series of free legal clinics in December and January. “I feel like everyone is just tuned into this and ready to go,” she continues. “It’s not easy to support volunteers and clients as fully as we would like when we’re under time pressure.” 

Their legal team, which handles a lot of asylum cases for queer and trans individuals, has also received more immigration-related calls from people worried about potential changes to their status after the inauguration. While it’s still unknown what Trump will do, he’s promised to carry out mass deportations impacting millions of people. 

“It’s a question we can’t quite answer,” says Nelson, “but we have some predictions and we’re just digging in.” The organization hopes to work with similar groups across the city to prepare and distribute Know Your Rights materials, she adds. In the meantime, they’re advising some people to carry their documents with them in case they have to prove their legal status. 

Nelson says her team will be attuned to any potential changes that may impact an individual’s access to legal help. “If any sudden or even slow creep changes appear on the horizon, we’ll be guiding patients to take necessary steps to protect themselves.” 

Whitman-Walker Health's trans care navigation team saw the number of existing medical patients referred for gender-affirming surgery double in the two weeks following the election compared to the month prior, according to britt walsh, the clinic’s director of gender-affirming care. Some of the clinic’s patients have traveled from out of state for care.

“I know that there are people who have been preparing for some time and thinking through what this will mean for my access to care,” says walsh. “How quickly can I make something happen that I’m concerned is going to go away in the potentially near future, especially as there’s been such an anti-trans landscape politically.” 

People are also inquiring about other procedures, tips to prepare, and how their access to care might change. 

Despite the uncertainty, walsh says they are encouraging folks to stay connected to their care teams. And the organization is being proactive about publishing guidance so people can take steps without having to wait to hear back from them. 

“We’re with you and we commit to sharing the information we have — when we have it,” they say, though they’re trying to be transparent that they don’t have all the answers. 

In recent years, a rise in physical and verbal harassment incidents against queer people in the District means that safety concerns are a frequent topic of conversation among LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition members, according to Ellis.

As a safety precaution, advocates advise people to be more cautious about the information they share online. Some organizations, themselves, have taken steps to increase security measures.

Organizers at SMYAL, which supports LGBTQ+ youth in the Washington D.C. region, have experienced an increase in new people reaching out for services and higher attendance at their programs, particularly among elementary and middle school-aged youth. 

“There’s a lot of fear that those kids are feeling,” says Hancie Stokes, director of communications at SMYAL. Stokes emphasized their transgender and nonbinary youth have a lot of questions about what is going to happen and what it will mean for them. “One kid actually asked ‘Are they not even gonna allow trans kids to go to school anymore?’” Stokes says. 

In response to increased needs, SMYAL is continuing to invest in its mental health counseling resources, says Stokes. The LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition is pushing the D.C. Council for increased investment in mental health services, including mobile mental health units, to serve members of the queer community experiencing homelessness. 

D.C.’s queer community is also taking both safety and mental health into its own hands.

“There’s the everyday bashing or getting jumped and I think that’s the most practical and immediate concern that we are preparing for,” says Cuán McCann, founder of Strange Fox Fighting Arts, a trans-led Irish stick fighting school based in Baltimore. “And then there’s everything else.” 

Instead of prioritizing fear, McCann emphasizes that the practice focuses on connecting with your body and community as a form of resistance to oppression. It’s about reimagining safety, particularly trans safety, as building inner strength to improve individual and communal well-being, he says. “I hope that this can be a space for people to explore an avenue of community that’s interested in movement and in community defense as part of movement together.”

Recently, more people have sought classes, but McCann avoids fueling panic about the Trump administration, noting these challenges are neither new nor tied to any one individual. Still, he plans to expand programming in D.C. this year. 

DMV Queer Fight Club, another local martial arts group, has also seen increased attendance at their classes since the election. Sabrina Brown, founder of the club, emphasizes the desire for “third spaces,” — somewhere other than one’s home or work to come together, work out, and release frustration without thinking about this current political moment. 

The owners of As You Are, a queer cafe and bar on Capitol Hill, also highlighted the importance of community support, saying they’ve noticed a recent rise in patrons.

Rach “Coach” Pike and Jo McDaniel sought out community input to develop an inclusive queer space that fosters connection, which they opened in 2022. From friendship meetup events to queer reading nights and dance parties, they try to make space for everyone. “We as a community have been in dire spaces before and not always had a place to find each other,” says McDaniel. “And I think that would bolster us as a whole — just to find each other in those ways.” 

“There’s space for that heavy,” Pike adds, “but most people are coming to us to set that down for a minute and know inside here, we don’t have to worry about that because this is us in here.”