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Apr 28, 2021 - Politics & Policy

FLOTUS invites transgender teen as guest to joint session of Congress

Orion Rummler
Joe Biden and Jill Biden walk outside while Jill waves

President Joe Biden and First lady Jill Biden on April 25. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

First lady Jill Biden invited 16-year-old Stella Keating, the first transgender teen to testify before the U.S. Senate, as one of her virtual guests to President Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Keating's invitation comes amid a record number of Republican-backed bills introduced this year targeting trans youth — and after Biden's White House has brought national political attention to trans rights.

  • Keating, who testified in support of the Equality Act, also appears to be the first transgender person invited to a joint session of Congress by a president or first lady.
  • Transgender service members were invited to former President Trump's 2018 and 2019 State of the Union addresses by Democrats in protest of the administration's ban on trans people serving in the U.S. military.
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