BY: DM
Published 5 days ago
Peppermint has sashayed into Congress. The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 9 runner-up flew to Washington, D.C., with activist Javier Muñoz to lobby Congress. They pressed lawmakers to reject proposed cuts to HIV prevention and treatment funding.
A pending House appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026 now threatens critical HIV services. It would slash millions from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, defund the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, and — according to the Save HIV Funding Campaign — strip services from over 1.2 million Americans living with HIV.
Peppermint publicly came out as transgender in 2017. Since then, she has used her platform to spotlight transgender rights, HIV awareness, and broader LGBTQIA+ protections. Now she’s taking that fight straight to Congress and shows no sign of backing down.
Peppermint is fighting for LGBTQIA+ health care.
Peppermint went to Congress after hearing about proposed federal budget cuts that activists say would wipe out whole systems of care for people with HIV. As part of the #SaveHIVFunding campaign, she stood with Muñoz and dozens of advocates, pressing lawmakers to protect HIV program funding.
On Sept. 3, Peppermint and Muñoz met with members and staff from both parties, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and representatives from New York’s delegation. They also stood at the House Triangle for a rally with Rep. Maxine Waters and HIV/AIDS activists. Their strategy mixed direct lobbying with public pressure. They held scheduled meetings with congressional offices and then took their case public through media interviews, social posts, and rally testimony. The goal was to turn human stories into calls to action and push constituents to contact their representatives.
“We’re here to save HIV funding because it’s in jeopardy,” Peppermint told the Washington Blade. “Our legislature is making wild cuts as the result of the big bill, which affects many communities across the board, but especially in the realm of health care.”
Muñoz, who has lived with HIV since 2002, reinforced the stakes. “This is my life, this is my health, this is my future,” he told The Advocate, warning that deep cuts would “put us back to HIV wards — AIDS wards — in hospitals.”
Peppermint’s trip to Congress didn’t happen out of nowhere.
Across states and in Congress, advocates have tracked hundreds of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills this year, with most aimed at transgender people. Lawmakers have pushed measures that restrict gender-affirming care for youth, clamp down on drag performances, and roll out other policies that advocates say block access to health care and basic civil rights. Human Rights Watch, the ACLU, and the Trans Legislation Tracker document dozens of enacted laws and many more active bills targeting trans health care and public life. That wave of state action raises the stakes for any federal rollback of HIV programs, because clinics and community groups will have fewer resources to protect people during these attacks.
State laws add to the harm federal cuts create. When clinics lose federal dollars, they must slash services that already run on slim budgets. These clinics provide hormone care, HIV testing and prevention like PrEP, mental-health support, and wraparound services that steady people facing stigma, unstable housing, or job loss. For patients, that can mean missed appointments, longer waits, and gaps in medication. Advocates say policy barriers and funding cuts together worsen the health disparities the LGBTQIA+ community has spent decades trying to close.
What would cuts to HIV funding mean for your community or the people you know? Comment below!
