DOGE Account Calls Attention to Removing LGBTQ+ Page on DHS Website

The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) social media account has taken to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday to boast about the removal of an LGBTQ+ page from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website.

Newsweek has reached out to the DHS via email for comment on Sunday morning.

Why It Matters

Since beginning his second term, President Donald Trump has taken steps to unravel protections for LGBTQ+ people as their rights have been under scrutiny since his 2024 presidential campaign.

On Inauguration Day, Trump signed an executive order titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government.” The order mandated that his administration would use “clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.” The federal government will also use the word “sex” instead of “gender” with all official documents, including passports, visas and Global Entry cards, “accurately reflect the holder’s sex.”

“Agencies are no longer going to promote gender ideology through communication forms and other messages,” a Trump administration official told reporters at the time, adding that “federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology.”

Since then, several websites related to topics of gender identity and sexual orientation have been taken down.

What To Know

In a Saturday evening post on X, DOGE pointed towards the removal of the LGBTQ+’s webpage on the DHS’ website.

“Adjustment to DHS website,” DOGE wrote, attaching screenshots of the before and after of DHS’ LGBTQ+ website page that spoke about how the LGBTQ+ community faces violence.

Although it’s unclear when exactly the webpage was taken down, as of Sunday morning, when visiting the “LGBTQI+ Community Resources” page on the DHS website, visitors are now taken to a page that states: “Page Not Found. It looks like K-9 Scout wasn’t able to find the page that you are searching for. The page may have been moved, deleted, or is otherwise unavailable.”

DOGE’s post comes as it has been one of the major focal points of Trump’s second administration.

It was created via executive order under Trump and is currently overseen by Musk, the world’s richest man and a top donor and influential adviser to the president.

The organization has been tasked by Trump to cut federal spending and has aggressively made recommendations and proposed initiatives to that end since Trump has taken office

The removal of the LGBTQ+’s webpage on the DHS’ website comes after several websites related to topics of gender identity and sexual orientation have been taken down on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website as of late January. The CDC did not say how long these pages would be down or how many pages may be impacted by these changes.

Impacted webpages include “Health Disparities Among LGBTQ Youth” and “Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth,” which remain search results on Google but once opened only bring up a page saying: “The page you’re looking for was not found.” The webpage suggests trying the CDC archives or the A-Z index.

The archives only bring up former documents that may include references to these topics.

According to the Associated Press, other pages affected by these changes include contraception guidance, a fact sheet about HIV and transgender people, lessons on building supportive school environments for transgender and nonbinary children and details about National Transgender HIV Testing Day.

It should be noted that the main HIV page on the CDC is active again, but it was temporarily impacted.

According to NBC News, other government websites have also taken down web pages that speak about the LGBTQ+ community, including the State Department and the Social Security Administration (SSA).

LGBTQ Pride Parade — People march in the 2024 San Diego Pride Parade on July 20, 2024.

Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

What People Are Saying

The HIV Medicine Association and Infectious Disease Society of America issued a joint statement late last month that read: “The removal of HIV- and LGBTQ-related resources from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies is deeply concerning and creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks. Access to this information is crucial for infectious diseases and HIV health care professionals who care for people with HIV and members of the LGBTQ community and is critical to efforts to end the HIV epidemic. This is especially important as diseases such as HIV, mpox, sexually transmitted infections and other illnesses threaten public health and impact the entire population. Timely and accurate information from the CDC guides clinical practice and policies, which are essential for controlling infections and safeguarding health.”

LGBTQ+ media advocacy group GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement, per NBC News: “President Trump claims to be a strong proponent of freedom of speech, yet he is clearly committed to censorship of any information containing or related to LGBTQ Americans and issues that we face. This action proves the Trump administration’s goal of making it as difficult as possible for LGBTQ Americans to find federal resources or otherwise see ourselves reflected under his presidency. Sadly for him, our community is more visible than ever; and this pathetic attempt to diminish and remove us will again prove unsuccessful.”

President Donald Trump said during his inaugural speech: “This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based. As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”