Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Trump administration will soon make it easier for federally funded adoption agencies to reject same-sex couples, Axios' Sam Baker and Jonathan Swan reported on Friday.
The big picture: In just 2 years, the Trump administration has worked to undo a major chunk of the protections the LGBTQ community secured under President Obama.
- Rolled back an Obama-era order allowing transgender people to openly serve in the U.S. military.
- Proposed rolling back protections for transgender people established under the Affordable Care Act.
- Told the Supreme Court last year that federal law doesn't protect transgender people from workplace discrimination.
- Will make it easier for religious health care workers to object to providing care and procedures that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, potentially putting gay and transgender patients at risk.
- Would weaken protections for homeless transgender people, including allowing HUD-funded shelters to deny them access or force transgender women to share quarters and bathrooms with men.
- Removed Title IX protections for transgender youth ensuring they had access to bathrooms and facilities of their choice.
- Changed an Obama-era policy allowing prisoners to be housed based on their gender identity.
Between the lines: This fits under Trump’s social conservative — religious liberty — agenda and is a big reason why he has such strong support from evangelical Christians who voted for him in record numbers in 2016.
- Swan emails: Despite being held as suspect by social conservatives when he first ran for president — due to his pro-choice background and donations to liberal Democrats — Trump has arguably been a more socially conservative president than any in recent memory.
The bottom line: The growing power of the presidency means that, for large portions of the American population, losing — or gaining — legal protections is just an election away.