House GOP relents on LGBT center funding in $460B package as Dems cheer lack of ‘poison pills’

The $460 billion government funding bill the House of Representatives is set to vote on Wednesday includes $1 million marked for an LGBTQ community center that once held a drag event with children.

It comes as Democrats celebrate the lack of “poison pills” in the bill while GOP hardliners lament what they call a lost opportunity to force passage of conservative policies.

The earmark for the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia was advocated for by Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., and Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman, both Pennsylvania Democrats. 

A 2016 article published in the Philadelphia Gay News titled, “Youth celebrate the art of drag at William Way,” described an 11-year-old boy named Esai and an 8-year-old named Max participating in a youth drag event at the center.

CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS STRIKE SHORT-TERM DEAL TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“When Esai slides down from his chair, his blonde hair is in tight curls, his lips are purple and his eyes are lidded with pink and silver eye shadow against his rosy face. He teeters by in heeled boots far too big for him and changes out of his purple ‘We Are Made of Stars’ T–shirt. He could be any little girl playing dress-up, save for the expert cosmetic application,” the article reads.

It described his makeup as being applied by “a bearded man in studded leather platform boots.”

“Max dances to ‘No’ by Meghan Trainor, periodically dropping into the splits in his long, red dress. None of this is choreographed – it really is just kids dancing around, playing dress–up, having fun,” it said of the 8-year-old.

The allocation was highlighted in a memo by Americans Advancing Freedom (AAF), a policy and advocacy group started by former Vice President Mike Pence.

GOP HARDLINERS FURIOUS AT JOHNSON FOR PASSING ANOTHER SHORT-TERM SPENDING BILL WITH DEMS: ‘USUAL C–P’