#HIVResists: May 2026 Monthly Policy Update

The Trump Administration is relentless in its attacks on the rights, safety, and dignity of trans and gender diverse people. Starting his second term, Trump immediately used the power of executive orders to advance anti-trans policies: ordering federal agencies to define gender as a binary, ending federal funding that promotes “gender ideology,” prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in girl or women’s sports teams, and banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces. On the global stage, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the United Nations’ (UN) LGBTQ+ and intersex work group and then tried to introduce an unsuccessful UN resolution that would define gender as a binary.

In line with the executive orders, federal agencies began proposing anti-trans rules. Proposed rules include: stopping use of federal funds to cover transition related healthcare, stopping hospitals receiving federal funding from providing gender affirming care for youth, requiring federally-funded shelters to house tenants based on sex at birth, and allowing Health and Human Services recipients to discriminate against people with gender dysphoria. In addition, Trump is weaponizing the Department of Justice by launching investigations to school districts because of

LGBQ+ and transgender rights. Anti-trans members of Congress have also tried to legislate trans people out of existence. For example, MAGA Republicans attempted and failed to add anti-LGBTQ+ riders to the FY26 budget process, and 8 Democrats joined with House Republicans to pass the “Don’t Say Trans” bill out of the U.S. House.  

On top of the hostile federal landscape, states are also attacking transgender rights. In 2026, 50 anti-trans bills passed and 44 were signed into law. Anti-trans legislation succeeded in 15 states and predominantly attacked healthcare rights and education rights. In general, anti-LGBTQ+ bills continue to advance at the state level. 

The rights, safety, and dignity of trans people and people living with HIV are inextricably linked. Trans women are 66 times more likely to have HIV compared to the general population because, as the Well Project wrote, “while the virus may not discriminate, people and societies do.” Trans women, especially trans women of color, face compounding legal, social, and political barriers that block access to economic security, healthcare, housing, education, and more. More than 30%—a third of trans women—for example, reported being unhoused/homeless in a year. Trans women face legal barriers in updating identity documents, difficulty accessing care due to lack of provider knowledge, discrimination that leads to unemployment and increased risk of poverty, and an onslaught of fatal violence. Trans women living with HIV, moreover, face worse socioeconomic disparities as well as state and interpersonal violence.

HIV advocacy must address the violence, stigma, and discrimination that trans people face. As recent news headlines prove, the growing anti-trans policies are fueling anti-trans violence and endangering members of our community. A recent Trevor Project study found that LGBTQ+ youth face high rates of suicidality and victimization made worse by anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Although heightened by the Trump Administration’s rhetoric, Black trans women faced disproportionate rates of violence and murder long before this Administration. In light of the increasing violence, the Lemkin Institute

released their third Red Flag Alert: Anti-Trans Genocide in the USA, citing increasing genocidal language and radicalization of policies at the federal and state level. 

CALL TO ACTION

The Department of Housing (HUD) has proposed changing its Equal Access Rule (EAR) which ensures access to housing programs, shelters, and other facilities regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. Based on the Trump Administration’s binary approach to sex, the Administration wants to overturn this rule, which would allow shelters to discriminate against trans people and require evidence of sex, and remove all protections across HUD programming for trans people. Forty-two percent of unhoused trans women are living with HIV. Housing is one of the biggest determinants for an individual’s ability to stay on their medication program and build stability. 

Before overturning the rule, the Trump Administration must provide a comment period to hear from the community. Submitting a comment is a form of collective action that shows the strength of our opposition to this Administration’s violent policies. 

• Tell HUD: Protect the Equal Access Rule – use the Advocates For Trans Equality (A4TE) website for further information and tips on how to submit a comment. 
  • TIP: We want submitted comments to be as unique as possible! It’s not about length but having a high volume of unique comments that the Administration has to respond to. So, share your stories and experiences – if you feel comfortable. 
• A4TE Digital Toolkit on how to Protect the Equal Access Rule

• The Trump Administration started a federal investigation of Smith College, a women’s university, for its inclusive admissions policy that welcomes transgender men, women, and nonbinary people.
• A Federal judge ruled that the Trump Administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have “animus” against trans people. The ruling is based on FTC civil investigations into two leading medical organizations on transgender health—The Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health—and represents a win for organizations pushing back against the Trump Administration’s efforts to intimidate hospitals and other organizations that support transgender health.

• The Trump Administration is trying a new tactic to gain information on children receiving gender-affirming care and doctors providing treatment. The Administration’s new move is utilizing federal authorities in red states to intervene in other states. For example, the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas sent a criminal subpoena to the NYU Langone Hospital demanding information about patients under 18 and the doctors who provided care. Additionally, although the Department of

Justice was denied a criminal subpoena to access records from a Rhode Island hospital, a federal judge in Texas ordered that the records can be released to the court. 

• The Trump Administration launched a website, “moms.gov”, that steers pregnant people towards anti-abortion Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC). CPCs are unregulated “fake clinics” that aim to prevent people from accessing abortion based on anti-science misinformation and deceptive tactics. 
• The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) intervened to stop a nationwide restriction on mifepristone, a safe and effective drug used for abortion and 

• The Trump Administration announced that former private prison executive of the GEO Group, David Venturella, will be the new acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• The Trump Administration has closed the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman, the office responsible for investigating detention center abuse. 

• In an attempt to address abuses by ICE, the New York Governor announced a proposed budget with policy reforms that limit local collaboration with ICE, bans face coverings by law enforcement, and allows residents to sue local or federal officials under state law violations.