Political Notes: LGBTQ leaders react to US government shutdown

With congressional leaders at an impasse, and Republican President Donald Trump seemingly uninterested in reaching a compromise, the federal government remains shut down and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Most Republican lawmakers left Washington, D.C. this week for a planned recess break, prompting their Democratic colleagues who remained to post videos of themselves searching the halls of Congress for their GOP counterparts.

One to do so was queer Washington state Congressmember Emily Randall (D-Bremerton), who has posted several videos to her Threads account since the shutdown began at midnight on October 1. The first out Latina in Congress, Randall is a former Bay Area resident and currently the lone female LGBTQ congressional leader from the West Coast.

“Real people, real families are going to be affected by this shutdown. Republicans need to get back from vacation and work with House Democrats – who are here and fighting to prevent *even more* cuts to health care, to lower the costs, and to save health care access for Americans across the nation,” stressed Randall, who is in her first term on Capitol Hill.

She is among the LGBTQ leaders who have been speaking out against both the shutdown and the GOP-drafted short-term budget proposal that led to it. Democratic lawmakers have rejected it for not addressing the spike in health care costs millions of Americans are facing due to provisions added to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that became law this summer.

Democrats want to tackle the issue now in the governmental spending bill rather than kick the matter to next month. The Republicans’ continuing appropriations resolution they favor only goes through November 21, which they argue allows time to debate how to address the health care funding matters.

Trump, meanwhile, has made no secret he sees the government shutdown as advantageous to his goals of shrinking the federal workforce and rescinding more funding already approved by Congress for programs he opposes.

“The last thing we want to do is shut it down, but a lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” he told reporters earlier this week. “We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want. And they’d be Democrat things.”

In a Thursday email to his constituents with the headline “We Must Stop the Trump Shutdown,” gay California Congressmember Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) laid the blame for the impasse squarely at the feet of the president and GOP lawmakers.

“This week, our government shut down because conservatives, despite controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, failed to pass policies to keep the government funded,” wrote Garcia, the former mayor of his city. “Instead, House Republicans have enacted laws that have taken care away from millions of people, while opposing policies to keep health insurance costs from skyrocketing. House Democrats are ready to reopen the government and defend Americans’ health care, but conservatives have refused to compromise on their policies and are nowhere to be found.”

He warned American families set to lose their health care coverage are already financially stretched thin face and struggling to pay for life-saving treatment. The shutdown portends to be “the most damaging one yet,” stated Garcia.

“While House Democrats are pushing to protect affordable health care and essential programs, conservative policies are putting billionaire donors and Donald Trump’s policies ahead of the American people,” wrote Garcia. “House Democrats will fight to open our government while we continue to stand up for working families and defend their health care.”

Talking point in races
The shutdown has become a talking point in the race for California’s 48th congressional seat currently held by Congressmember Darrell Issa (R-Vista). Should Proposition 50 be adopted by California voters come November 4, then the ballot measure will redraw the Golden State’s House districts, looping in the LGBTQ heavy Palm Springs region in with Issa’s San Diego County neighborhoods he now represents.

Due to that prospect a number of LGBTQ leaders across Southern California have said they plan to run against Issa in 2026. Among them is gay entrepreneur and trained economist Brandon Riker, who lived in the East Bay city of Orinda, California until middle school.

Earlier this week Riker blamed Issa and Trump for the shutdown and allowing millions of federal workers to go without paychecks until the government reopens. He also pointed to an analysis predicting premiums for those in CA-48 on Covered California health plans would spike by more than 75% if Congress doesn’t come up with a fix.

“The affordability crisis is hitting Americans at all income levels, and Darrell Issa has shown that he will put Trump over affordability at any chance he can get,” stated Riker, who was in the Bay Area Monday to fundraise. “Inflation is going up, health care tax credits are going away, and our community will inevitably be hurt – but Darrell Issa and Donald Trump don’t give a damn about us.”

Bisexual San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, who ended her planned 2026 state Senate bid to run against Issa due to the impact of Prop 50 on the House race, also criticized Trump and the GOP lawmaker for the shutdown. She specifically called out Issa for going “on vacation” rather than helping to solve the impasse.

“It’s time to put people over politics. Washington Republicans own this shutdown, and voters remember who fought for their health care, and who fought for billionaires,” stated von Wilpert.

She contended Trump and Congressional Republicans welcomed it in order to further dismantle various federal agencies, from the Social Security Administration to those focused on health care and dealing with environmental protections.

“As a City Councilmember, I am required by law to pass balanced budgets, and I’ve done it while protecting taxpayers. Congress should be held to the same standard,” stated von Wilpert. “In Washington, I’ll fight to lower costs, protect affordable health care and make sure families never have to choose between paying rent and paying for medicine.”

Issa has pushed back against such criticisms, blaming his Democratic colleagues for the shuttering of the federal government.

“Here’s the bottom line: The Democrats demanded trillions in new government spending, tried to blackmail @realDonaldTrump and @HouseGOP, and when they didn’t get it, they shut down the government,” wrote Issa in an X post on Wednesday.

Local leaders have also been weighing in on the shutdown. Bisexual Corte Madera Town Councilmember Eli Beckman blasted the president and GOP leaders on Capitol Hill for allowing the shutdown to happen in a post on his Threads account.

“So, Trump and the Corrupt Repubs just shut down the government. The reason is clear: rich people like them will continue to not pay taxes, while Americans who are struggling will not get food or medical assistance. It’s criminal,” wrote Beckman, a candidate in 2026 for the open Assembly District 12 seat straddling Marin and Sonoma counties.

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Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected] .