Kansas Dem Adam Hamilton Lamented Trump Rescinding Biden Transgender Executive Orders

Kansas Democrat Senate nominee Adam Hamilton read descriptions of four executive orders issued under former President Joe Biden concerning gender identity and LGBTQ protections to his congregation during a January 2025 sermon, saying the thought of losing those protections was painful for people in the LGBTQ community.

Hamilton, the founding and senior pastor of the Church of the Resurrection, made the remarks in a January 2025 message titled A Message to President Trump, following Trump’s return to the White House.

The pastor, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) in Kansas’s U.S. Senate race, referenced a message he had received that morning from a member of his congregation.

“And somebody sent me this morning, one of our gay members sent me this morning, the executive orders that were rescinded yesterday,” Hamilton said. “And, you know, people clapped and cheered about these executive orders being rescinded. These were executive orders from the Biden Administration, from 2021. Let me just read a couple of them to you.”

“Executive Order 14021, guaranteeing an educational environment free from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. That’s been rescinded,” Hamilton said.

“Executive Order 14004, enabling all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform regardless of gender identity. That’s been rescinded,” he continued.

“Executive Order 13988, preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. That has been rescinded. Executive Order 14075 advancing equality for LGBTQI+ individuals. That’s been rescinded,” Hamilton said.

After listing the orders, Hamilton stated, “For people who find themselves in this community, the thought that the rights that they had — basic fundamental protections that they had — have been rescinded is painful,” Hamilton said. “It leads to tears and brokenness.”

He then addressed how the Church of the Resurrection would respond.

“We’re going to be a safe place for people, where you don’t have to be afraid,” Hamilton said. “This is a safe place for you.”

One of the orders Hamilton referenced, Executive Order 13988, titled Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, was issued by Biden on January 20, 2021. The directive established the administration’s nondiscrimination policy concerning gender identity and sexual orientation, including protections affecting education, employment, healthcare, and housing. It stated that “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports,” and called for equal treatment under the law regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

In a February 2021 analysis, Sarah Parshall Perry of the Heritage Foundation argued that while the order did not explicitly link federal funding to transgender-identifying athletes’ participation in girls’ and women’s sports, schools could still face financial consequences. She wrote that refusing to allow biological males who identify as women to compete on female sports teams or receive athletic scholarships could, under the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX, “constitute a violation of Title IX, thereby disqualifying said institution from receiving certain federal funds.”

Executive Order 13988 also influenced federal housing policy. On April 27, 2021, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) withdrew a proposed Trump administration rule that would have weakened protections for transgender individuals seeking access to federally funded shelters and housing programs. The decision also had implications for domestic violence shelters serving women. HUD cited Executive Order 13988 and Executive Order 13985, titled Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, in explaining the withdrawal. The decision preserved the department’s 2016 Equal Access Rule, which was designed to ensure that “all individuals — regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status — had equal access to HUD-funded and HUD-insured housing and related programs.”

President Donald Trump traveled to Kansas on October 19 to campaign for Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), drawing thousands of supporters to a rally outside Wichita ahead of the November 3 midterm election. According to Breitbart News, attendees lined up outside the arena, with “every seat filled” inside as Trump made his entrance to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Ahead of the rally, Trump endorsed Marshall on Truth Social, calling his Democrat challenger, Adam Hamilton, a “Radical Left Phony” who was “pretending to be a moderate.” Trump also wrote, “Adam Hamilton used church dollars to fund anti-religious transgender activists who openly mock Jesus. He promotes a document listing 125 different genders, and directs his followers to 7 different websites to make children transgender.”

Breitbart News reported that Hamilton voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 and donated $500 to her campaign, describing Trump as a “disrupter” and the events of January 6 as a “disqualifier” for him. Hamilton said in January 2026 that he would want to join protesters if the ICE enforcement practices he was discussing in Minneapolis occurred in Kansas City, citing concerns about racial profiling. He previously served on Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, which recommended expanding eligibility for presidential clemency. Several recipients of Obama-era commutations subsequently faced criminal proceedings involving murder allegations, fentanyl-containing pills, and cocaine offenses.