Trans Congresswoman Sarah McBride just got Trump to reverse himself in victory for Delaware

President Donald Trump may have signed an executive order erasing federal recognition of transgender people, but one trans member of Congress just reminded him that she exists — and that she fights to win.

Rep. Sarah McBride, the first-year Democrat from Delaware and the first out transgender member of Congress forced the Trump administration into a high-profile reversal this week after it tried to slash funding for a critical manufacturing support program in her home state.

The Trump administration’s National Institute of Standards and Technology informed McBride on April 1 that Delaware’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership — a program that helps small and mid-sized manufacturers grow, innovate, and retain jobs — would lose federal funding.

“The Trump administration thought it could quietly dismantle this critical program — but we didn’t let that happen,” McBride said in a statement. “Cutting support for small and mid-sized manufacturers wasn’t just misguided, it was unacceptable.”

The move was part of Trump’s broader effort to dismantle large portions of the federal government — including programs that help working families — while advancing an explicitly anti-LGBTQ+ agenda.

As The Advocate previously reported, one of Trump’s first actions after returning to the White House in January was signing an executive order declaring that the U.S. government would no longer recognize transgender or nonbinary people.

But while Trump’s administration refuses to acknowledge McBride’s identity, it couldn’t ignore her power.

Within hours of learning about the planned cuts, McBride organized a letter to Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, signed by 86 House Democrats, demanding the administration reverse course. The letter argued that stripping funding from the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, created by Congress in 1988, was counterproductive — especially from an administration that claims to support American manufacturing.

“To manufacture at home, we must support American manufacturers,” McBride and her colleagues wrote.

On Tuesday, NIST informed McBride that funding for DEMEP and nine other affected MEP centers would be renewed through the end of the fiscal year — a victory McBride called only a first step.

A press release from McBride’s office noted that DEMEP has supported $42.5 million in new investments in Delaware and helped retain over 400 manufacturing jobs in the past year alone.

One of those success stories is SUMURI, a digital forensics company that provides investigative tools to law enforcement agencies worldwide.

“Without DEMEP’s help, we would have imploded,” said SUMURI co-founder Steve Whalen. “We’re grateful to our Congresswoman for fighting for this funding — because DEMEP will continue helping small businesses across our state, just like they did for ours.”

McBride’s fight against the funding cuts is just the latest example of how LGBTQ+ leaders are resisting Trump’s sweeping attacks and winning.

“We are grateful to our Congressional delegation for their leadership in protecting DEMEP’s federal funding for at least another six months,” DEMEP’s Fiduciary Board chair Lora Johnson said. “This welcome reprieve will ensure that DEMEP can continue to provide critical services to our state’s manufacturing sector, offering support that helps our manufacturers grow sustainably, solve problems, and create jobs here in Delaware.”