Advocate NL 8/4/26

Hello folks, Audience Editor Edgar Ramirez here, back in your inbox on this Tuesday.It turns out U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has had his hands full lately, using (not leading) the Pentagon as a tool for this administration.Jacob Ogles reports that Hegseth pressured Scouting America to curtail inclusive programming at its National Jamboree. The result was cancellations by Scouts who had looked forward to gathering in dedicated community spaces, including one for LGBTQ+ Scouts.The meddling in the National Jamboree, which took place last week in West Virginia, follows months of Hegseth pressuring the youth organization through its century-old partnership with the Pentagon.As if that wasn't enough, Christopher Wiggins has a story on how the Trump administration’s campaign to drive transgender people from the military is being carried out inside closed hearing rooms, where decorated service members are subjected to proceedings ordinarily used to remove troops accused of drug abuse, domestic violence or theft. Find the full reporting here.Folks, a quick note: These stories from Jacob and Christopher are made possible with your help. Please consider becoming an Advocate supporter!Until next time!Washington ballot measure could force all girls to have genital inspections to play sportsOpinion: Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno and Rep. Max Miller are Ohio’s family values fraudsSeth Moulton’s anti-trans rhetoric comes back to haunt him in Senate debate with Ed MarkeyRepublican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy earns an ‘F’ from leading Ohio LGBTQ+ groupFederal appeals court upholds Florida law restricting drag performancesJames Talarico tells Rachel Maddow how bigoted, anti-trans politics distract from GOP corruptionA rural Virginia school board changed its rules to block an LGBTQ+ club. Students are suing in federal courtPete Hegseth bullied Scouting America into scrapping LGBTQ+ spaces at the National JamboreeDecorated transgender troops endure closed-d