First out gay U.S. Senator-elect Chris Pappas puts Donald Trump’s judicial nominees on notice

Chris Pappas stood beside his husband on election night and celebrated a breakthrough in American democracy. By Friday, the first out gay man elected to the U.S. Senate was describing how he intended to defend it.In an interview with The Advocate, the New Hampshire Democrat said he would use his vote on President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees to protect LGBTQ+ rights, including the freedom to marry.“I need to know that they respect the precedent that has been set in Obergefell and other decisions that have ensured a right to privacy and ensured that individuals have the freedom to be themselves and make their own decisions,” Pappas said.Pappas defeated Republican former Sen. John E. Sununu to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, preserving a Democratic seat as his party won control of Congress. His election gives gay men their first openly held seat in a chamber with the power to confirm the judges who decide how far constitutional protections reach.Related: Senator-elect Chris Pappas celebrates historic New Hampshire win beside his husband: ‘I’m the luckiest guy’A marriage at the center of a milestoneThe significance was beginning to register, Pappas said, through conversations with LGBTQ+ people who understood the victory as something larger than one candidate’s achievement.“And this is so much bigger than me,” he said. “This is about how we have a government that reflects the diversity of this country, but also the desire for change, the desire to make progress again, the desire to confront the damage of the Trump administration.” Beside him Tuesday was Vann Bentley, whom he married in 2023. Their election night appearance placed an ordinary expression of love at the center of an extraordinary political moment.“I’m not sure I would’ve made it through this process were it not for him,” Pappas said Friday.Both were exhausted. Both understood that their family would occupy a new place in the institution he was joining.“