LGBTQ groups decline to celebrate highest-ranking gay official in Trump admin Scott Bessent

LGBTQ groups aren’t celebrating the nomination of Scott Bessent as President-elect Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary the way they heralded the nomination of Pete Buttigieg for Transport Secretary. Both men are gay, The Washington Free Beacon noted, and Bessent’s potential new role is a more important one than transport. Upon Bessent's confirmation, he will be the highest-ranking gay official in US history.

GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, and the National LGBTQ Task Force were quick to celebrate Buttigieg’s nomination. He was the first openly gay cabinet member confirmed by the Senate, and GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis said it was a "historic milestone for LGBTQ visibility." The Human Rights Campaign was equally effusive in its enthusiasm, calling it a "historic confirmation.”

Bessent is the founder of the private investment firm Key Square Group and is expected to be confirmed by the Senate without any difficulty. That office will make him the fifth in line in presidential succession, but LGBTQ advocacy groups have ignored the appointment and were silent when the president-elect made the announcement.

LGBTQ-approved appointments during the Biden administration received hearty support from organizations like GLAAD which noted the “historic” nomination of trans-identified male Rachel Levine as the deputy assistant secretary of health and even records the names of everyone who has identified Levine as a biological male. The bureaucrat has used the office to promote puberty blockers and sex changes for children.

GLAAD was furious when CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski reminded voters about Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for taxpayer-funded sex change operations for illegals. "Transgender people and migrants are being baselessly scapegoated at every turn," the group’s CEO stated, The Beacon noted.

The National LGBTQ Task Force meanwhile applauded Levine’s appointment and was particularly “pleased” over President Joe Biden’s employment of Karine Jean-Pierre as the White House press secretary. The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute also celebrated Levine and Sam Brinton, the former Department of Energy bureaucrat who was arrested several times for pilfering women’s clothing he found at airports.

The Human Rights Campaign noted Bessent’s potential high-profile participation in the future Trump administration in a statement on Threads that almost warned Bessent to get with the LGBTQ program: "The LGBTQ+ community is counting on openly LGBTQ+ nominees like Scott Bessent to step up for the community," it said. "It will be a tough road—as was proven [during] Donald Trump's previous administration and in his Project 2025 Agenda."

"Donald Trump and his White House are a threat to the rights, freedoms, and lives of LGBTQ+ people. That will be our focus in the upcoming days, months, and years ahead."