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Lawmakers have stripped over $1 million in federal funding for an LGBTQ organization in Philadelphia after conservatives attacked it for allegedly hosting sex parties.
The move came after the offices of Pennsylvania Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey sent letters to appropriators on Tuesday requesting that they cut the earmark from the budget legislation that is expected to pass this week. The money would have paid for an expansion of Philadelphia’s William Way LGBT Community Center, which provides social services and hosts cultural events.
William Way had come under attack from conservatives earlier on Tuesday, when the influential right-wing X account Libs of TikTok posted about BDSM-themed events the center has hosted for several years, describing them as “s*x k*nk parties.”
The exact circumstances that led to the funding being dumped appeared somewhat murky, however, after Fetterman told Semafor that he had not approved the letter from his office.
“It wasn’t my decision,” he said Wednesday, adding he still “1000%” supported funding the center. “It was a perfunctory letter that was issued by the staff. I was not part of the process.”
A source familiar with talks around the earmark contested Fetterman’s account, saying the senator had been briefed Tuesday ahead of its removal. A Fetterman spokesman denied to Semafor that the briefing occurred.
Fetterman later released a statement seeking to clarify the issue. “Unfortunately, at the 11th hour my staff was made aware that funding for William Way, which was in the bill because I championed it, would not pass in the FY2024 Appropriation process. The choice was to either pull it or watch it get stripped out” Fetterman said. He added he’d push for the money again next year.
“I’m new here, but I wasn’t aware Democratic bills and priorities were influenced by Libs of TikTok,” Fetterman said.
Casey, who’s up for re-election next year, told Semafor he stood by his decision. “It’s a decision I made based upon information I received yesterday,” he said.
When asked by Semafor if the Libs of TikTok account had anything to do with the new information he reviewed, Casey responded: “I’m not going to get into all that. I made a decision and that’s final.”
In a followup statement, a spokesman for Casey called the Senator a “leader and ally in the fight to protect LGBTQ rights,” but suggested that the earmark raised special concerns.
“He believes that consenting adults have the right to do whatever they want in their free time, but these types of appropriations projects warrant the highest level of scrutiny on behalf of taxpayers,” the statement said. “Senator Casey withdrew his request for federal funding when new information about the third-party use of the facility emerged.”
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The earmark fight is the latest flashpoint in a log-running battle over conservative efforts to block federal dollars flowing to groups and organizations advocating for LGBTQ rights. Last summer, Democrats assailed House Republicans for stripping LGBTQ-related funding in their appropriations bills, calling it “bigotry on display.”
Funding for the William Way center was initially included in the earmark list accompanying the six government funding bills released on Sunday. But that pot of money for the organization was no longer included in the Congressional Record. The appropriations bills are headed for a vote Wednesday.
Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash. told Semafor that the decision to remove the earmark was “made at the request of the senators who asked for that.”
Two Senate Democratic aides said an outside organization had contacted the Appropriations panel about the William Way Center making their space available for sex-themed events. One of them said the outreach extended to Republican and Democratic offices as well.
Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., also pushed to fund the center. His office declined to comment.