The Trump administration has appointed Bethany Kozma, a known anti-transgender activist, as senior advisor for women’s empowerment.
In her new position, Kozma will serve the Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in the US Agency for International Development. She has previously held positions in the White House and the Department of Homeland security under President George W. Bush.
In 2016, Kozma launched a campaign opposing the Obama Administration’s guidance for public schools which allowed transgender students to use the restroom and locker room facilities that matched their gender identity. In an article she wrote for the Daily Signal titled “I’m a Mom. Here’s What I’m Doing to Fight Obama’s Transgender Agenda” Kozma said, “To put it simply, a boy claiming gender confusion must now be allowed in the same shower, bathroom, or locker room with my daughter under the president’s transgender policies. When I learned that predators could abuse these new policies to hurt children in school lockers, shelters, pool showers, or other vulnerable public places like remote bathrooms in national parks, I realized I had to do something.”
In another post for the Daily Signal, Kozma expressed her delight when the Trump administration rescinded the Obama administration’s restroom guidance. “As a woman and a mother, I am thrilled that the Trump administration has rescinded President Barack Obama’s unlawful transgender school policy regarding the use of showers, locker rooms, dorms, and bathrooms in public schools and universities,” Kozma said.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued a response to the new appointment, “At a time when transgender women are facing rising levels of violence and income inequality, appointing someone to this post who has dedicated their life to harming transgender youth is a slap in the face to LGBTQ Americans and a huge leap in the wrong direction which could place some of the most marginalized Americans directly in harm’s way.”
