Trump’s First 100 Days: We Are Moving Ahead United, Fearless, and Unstoppable
By Kevin Jennings, CEO of Lambda Legal
Commander Emily “Hawking” Shilling has spent more than 19 years serving this country with distinction in the military. A combat aviator and test pilot in the U.S. Navy, she’s flown 60 missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned three air medals for her service. She currently leads critical aerospace engineering programs, directly shaping the future of U.S. Naval aviation. All of that almost came to an end with the stroke of a pen when President Trump signed an Executive Order to ban transgender people from the military. Emily is a transgender woman, a fact which has had absolutely no impact on her service and her accomplishments.
We immediately stepped in and took the administration to court, securing a nationwide injunction blocking this policy, allowing Emily—and thousands of other trans and nonbinary servicemembers—to continue to serve. The Trump administration appealed the injunction and asked the appeals court to stay the lower court order while they appealed. They lost. They’re now trying again at the Supreme Court.
This is the level of hostility we’ve seen from the Trump camp in just the first 100 days. And it’s exactly why we launched our “Fearless and Fighting Back” campaign—to hold the line in court while our community is under attack.
Since day one, Lambda Legal has gone to court and sued the Trump administration five times challenging its harmful anti-LGBTQ+ policies, including:
- The Trans Military Ban, now halted nationwide
- The Gender-Affirming Care Ban targeting trans youth and families, also blocked
- Attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in federal agencies and community-based organizations like nonprofits serving HIV and housing services, awaiting court orders.
- Restrictions on transgender people’s access to federal identity documents like passports, case filed.
- Broad assaults on so-called “gender ideology” in education, public policy and health services, awaiting court orders.
And we’re winning. This spring, we secured a preliminary injunction in PFLAG v. Trump, halting a dangerous policy that would have ripped gender-affirming care away from trans minors nationwide. That victory means families can continue accessing lifesaving care for their children, without fear of government interference.
This isn’t new territory for us. During Trump 1.0 we sued his administration more than 15 times with an 87% success rate in federal court -and we will continue fighting back -fearlessly and unstoppably. United with cross-movement partners like ACLU, LDF, HRC, AFC, SFAF, and many others, Lambda Legal has been beating back unconstitutional policies across multiple administrations. And we’re not stopping now.
And this is just the beginning. As we move beyond the first 100 Days and look to a sustained resistance, we are a community that is “United. Fearless. And Unstoppable.” This is not just a slogan—it’s a promise.
This new phase will include bolstering our litigation, hiring new staff and ensuring we remain strong for the next 50 years advancing LGBTQ+ and HIV rights. But the road ahead won’t be easy. Currently, we are awaiting decisions in pivotal cases that could reshape LGBTQ+ rights across the country. In United States v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court is weighing the legality of bans on gender-affirming care for youth. And in two federal lawsuits, we’re challenging Executive Orders gutting workplace protections and DEI programs nationwide.
Our Trump Tracker serves as an accessible tool for anyone to stay up to date on how we have been fighting during the first 100 days and what’s at stake moving forward—and how Lambda Legal is fighting back in the courts.
These issues might sound very complicated and legal, but let me tell you what they mean: these are the stories of brave trans youth trying to keep access to their medical care, people living with HIV who might lose access to programs, transgender adults who might lose their passports, LGBTQ+ people who might lose healthcare services.
Stories like Commander Shilling’s are a powerful reminder that pride is not just celebration. It’s defiance. It’s resilience. It’s courage. And with your support, we will keep fighting—united and unstoppable.