Senators propose bill to reinstate LGBTQ+ youth crisis lifeline option eliminated by TrumpLink to Full ArticleUSA Today - Marc Ramirez
September 17, 2025
Two U.S. senators say they will introduce legislation Wednesday that would bring back a phone hotline button press that would connect LGBTQ+ people to specialized counselors in moments of crisis.
The service was eliminated two months ago by the Trump administration and leaves a void for young LGBTQ+ people who have no place to turn, according to the senators. Before being shut down, a troubled youth could call 988 and press "3" to get connected directly to a counselor specializing in LGBTQ+ issues.
The 988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act, sponsored by Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, would reinstate the specialized suicide crisis lifeline for LGBTQ+ young people and direct the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to dedicate funding toward "re-establishing, operating and maintaining" the program.
"We are in the middle of a mental health crisis, and the 988 lifeline saves lives, plain and simple," Baldwin said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. "There is absolutely no good reason that Donald Trump took away this specialized help for our LGBTQ youth. Mental health does not see partisan lines or geography."-------------------------------------
According to Baldwin's office, companion legislation will be introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois; Sharice Davids, D-Kansas; Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts; Mike Lawler, R-New York; and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania.
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