Grace Palo
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) The White House released a statement early Tuesday morning that pledged to keep the protections granted to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers that the Obama administration originally put into place.
“President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of L.G.B.T.Q. rights, just as he was throughout the election,” the statement said. “The president is proud to have been the first ever G.O.P. nominee to mention the L.G.B.T.Q. community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression.”
The statement comes shortly after a draft of a potential executive order began to circulate in Washington which would directly overturn former President Obama’s directive that barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the federal workforce and by federal contractors. The move also conforms with Trump’s election campaign, in which he didn’t often seek to highlight either gay rights or restrictions.
In the statement, the White House says Trump “is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community” and that he “continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election.”
The recent statement says the protections will remain intact “at the direction” of Trump.
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