Col. Bree Fram, a former Space Force officer forced to retire under the Trump administration’s ban on transgender service members, has launched a campaign to represent Virginia in Congress, raising more than $102,000 in her first 24 hours as an official candidate.
An engineer by trade, Fram served 23 years in the military, including deployments to Iraq and Qatar with the U.S. Air Force during the Iraq War. She later became an officer in the U.S. Space Force and, in 2024, became the first transgender service member promoted to the rank of colonel. She was also named to Out magazine’s “Out 100” list of influential LGBTQ people that year.
Fram, who came out as transgender in 2016, served through the first Trump administration’s ban on transgender military members and through the Biden administration before being forced to leave last year under the latest iteration of Trump’s military ban, after federal courts declined to block it.
Announcing the 24-hour fundraising haul — fueled by more than 400 individual donors from 43 states — Fram, 46, thanked supporters for their generosity and said in a news release that the response signaled Americans’ eagerness to “turn the page on chaos, vengeance, and attacks on personal freedom.”
The Reston resident has officially filed to run in Virginia’s Fairfax County-based 11th Congressional District, which would put her in competition with U.S. Rep. James Walkinshaw, a first-term congressman and former chief of staff to former Rep. Jerry Connolly, who died last year. Walkinshaw won a special election to replace Connolly, earning 75% of the vote in the general election.
However, Fram noted that Virginia Democrats’ redistricting efforts in the commonwealth — proposed in response to Republican mid-decade redistricting moves in states such as Texas, Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina — could place her in a different district. She has said she will file in whichever district Reston is placed in once the 2026 maps are finalized.
“I am not running on a platform that is about identity,” she told InsideNoVa. “I’m running on a platform that is about service and character, one that is about protecting strong democracy — including our basic rights, particularly freedom of speech, freedom of assembly that are so under threat right now.”
“I think there are 17 things that are far more interesting about me and who I am. And I just happen to be trans,” she told WUSA9. “I am a rocket scientist. I am a veteran. I am an engineer that has developed technologies that keep Americans safe. I am a parent. I am a skier and a hiker and a mother and so many other things that to me come before being trans. My experience of being pushed out is driving me to fight for an America that protects everyone’s dignity.”
Fram plans to campaign on restoring COVID-era subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that have since expired, saying it is important for people to have more affordable health insurance so they can see doctors and obtain the care they need. The mother of two has also emphasized education as a top priority.
In an interview with The Advocate, Fram emphasized restoring democratic guardrails and making government function effectively for people, rather than frightening them. She said Congress should be more aggressive in using its investigative and oversight powers to curb what she described as some of the current administration’s worst excesses, and that protecting civil liberties, including First Amendment rights, is non-negotiable.
Fram told WUSA9 that because she remains subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, even in retirement, she could be targeted by the Trump administration — as U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) has been — for her rhetoric or for opposing administration policies.
“Could I be brought up on charges that are absolutely made up and false? Absolutely,” she said. “Is that a concern? Yes. Will it stop me? No. This administration needs to be stood up to and called out at every moment that it lies and abuses its power.”
In a surprise appearance on Sunday, Nicki Minaj addressed Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025, an annual conference aimed at younger MAGA activists, where she reaffirmed her recent anti-transgender views.
The rapper built her career with the help of a deeply devoted fanbase known as “Barbz,” many of whom are gay men. At the event, the “Super Bass” singer repeated the phrase “Boys, be boys” while seated on stage beside conservative lightning-rod Erika Kirk.
She continued her attacks on California Governor Gavin Newsom at the December 21 event, while offering effusive praise for the president and vice president.
As one of his final acts in office, outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to distribute $2 million in "emergency funding" to roughly 20 organizations serving transgender, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary New Yorkers.
The grants are intended to counter federal budget cuts and Trump administration efforts to block LGBTQ organizations -- particularly those serving transgender people -- from receiving federal funding, reports Gay City News.
The funding, the first of its kind in the nation, will be administered by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The money is intended to support community organizations providing services to gender-diverse communities, including "health and wellness, legal advocacy, youth and family support, safety and crisis response, community building, and economic empowerment," according to the release.
Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang walked back comments they made about this year's U.S. Senate race in Texas, after advising listeners not to "waste" money donating to U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett's campaign.
The gay comics made the remarks on the January 7 episode of their Las Culturistas podcast, during a wide-ranging discussion of left-leaning political figures -- including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- and the direction of a Democratic Party they described as increasingly rudderless ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
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