White House hosts transgender ‘Jeopardy!’ star Amy Schneider
WASHINGTON ( AP) — President Joe Biden marked Transgender Day of Visibility on Thursday by denouncing “hateful bills” being passed at the state level as the White House played host to “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider, the first openly transgender winner on the popular quiz show.
Schneider met with second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who joined Rachel Levine, the assistant health secretary and the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate, for a conversation with transgender kids and their parents.
Schneider used the moment in the Washington spotlight to speak out against bills affecting transgender people.
“They’re really scary and some of them in particular that are denying medical services to trans youth, those are, those are lifesaving medical treatments,” Schneider told reporters. “These bills will cause the deaths of children and that’s really sad to me and it’s really frightening.”
Biden, in a brief video message, said that “the onslaught of anti-transgender state laws attacking you and your families is simply wrong.” The president said his administration “is standing up for you against all these hateful bills. And we’re committed to advancing transgender equality in the classroom, on the playing field, at work, in our military and our housing and health care systems.”
The administration announced several actions to make the federal government more inclusive for transgender people and said the Health and Human Services Department will be the first agency to fly a trans pride flag.. The steps come as Republican leaders have advanced state measures targeting transgender people as part of a broader push to stoke culture wars heading into a critical election season.
The administration said the federal government will become more inclusive for transgender people, including through the use of a new “X” gender marker on U.S. passport applications, beginning on April 11, and new Transportation Security Administration scanners that are gender-neutral.
It is working to expand the availability of the “X” gender marker to airlines and federal travel programs and will make it easier for transgender people to change their gender information in Social Security Administration records.
Visitors to the White House complex soon will also be able to choose an “X” gender marker option in the White House Worker and Visitor Entry System, which is used to conduct screening background checks.
At airports, changes will be made to screening scanners along with the introduction of the use of an “X” for travelers going through Precheck who do not identify as male or female. Transportation Security Administration agents will receive new instructions on how to make screening procedures less invasive and will work with airlines to promote acceptance of the “X” gender marker.