White House Cites Drop In Transgender Deaths To Defend Trump Policies

The Data Shift

The Trump White House is using new data to defend its policies on transgender issues. According to Daily Signal, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis stated that the data confirms the president’s law-and-order policies have helped all Americans. She cited reports from two major advocacy groups to support her claim. The Human Rights Campaign tracks violent deaths of transgender people each year starting on November 21. For the period ending November 20, 2023, that group counted 33 deaths. In the period ending November 20, 2024, it counted 36 deaths. In the most recent year, however, the group recorded only 27 deaths.

Advocates for Trans Equality also tracks these deaths over the same time frames. In the period ending November 20, 2023, the group counted 53 deaths. In the following year, it counted 43 deaths. In the most recent period, it counted 27 deaths. The Human Rights Campaign continued to warn that anti-transgender rhetoric and policy fuel violence during this period of decline. Bis observed that President Trump achieved the largest decrease in violent crime in American history.

Hospitals Step In

Claims that halting medical procedures causes harm are being challenged by the Department of Health and Human Services. In a Friday statement to the Daily Signal, an HHS spokesperson asserted that shielding children from irreversible sex-rejecting procedures does not constitute discrimination. The statement marks the administration’s latest defense of efforts to halt transgender medical interventions for minors. Six hospital systems have consented to cease providing these procedures to minors since May. The systems include Texas Children’s Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Connecticut Children’s Hospital.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, NYU Langone Hospitals, and Mount Sinai Health System are among other systems joining the settlement. HRC called the trend a crisis for families and transgender youth. Kelley Robinson, President of HRC, expressed that their thoughts are with the countless families across the country who feel scared and under siege. The Human Rights Campaign has repeatedly claimed that anti-transgender laws lead to violence against transgender people. Their statement claimed the procedures are best-practice, and potentially life-saving health care.

Science and Safety

HHS released a peer-reviewed review last year finding extremely weak evidence for any benefits from gender-affirming care for young people. A report released last month by HHS examined how medical professionals utilized false medical billing codes to prescribe puberty blockers for minors. Citing the Wolves in White Coats report, the HHS spokesperson noted that these procedures pose significant risks to children’s physical and mental health. The spokesperson added that these risks include lifelong consequences. Under President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, HHS will continue putting children’s health first. They will advance policies grounded in the best available science.

Although the White House highlights the drop in violent deaths, LGBTQ+ groups argue that violent-death counts represent only one measure of anti-LGBTQ+ violence. In 2025, GLAAD’s ALERT Desk project documented more than 1,000 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents. These incidents include assaults, vandalism, threats, and other events. GLAAD asserted that 2025 ranked as one of the most dangerous years on record for LGBTQ+ Americans. Yet the GLAAD report counts both criminal and non-criminal expressions of hate, including protests, in addition to concrete crimes.