Rand Paul faces backlash after saying gay official had “no business being in government” due to his “lifestyle”

Republican US Senator Rand Paul has come under fire for remarks targeting Dr Demetre Daskalakis, a former senior official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who recently resigned amid sweeping changes under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Paul claimed that Daskalakis, who is openly gay and known for his advocacy in LGBTQ+ health, had “no business being in government” due to his “lifestyle”. The senator referenced Daskalakis’s past social media posts and public appearances, including photos in leather gear and a cover shoot for Plus Magazine, suggesting that such expressions of identity were incompatible with public service.

“He brags about his lifestyle, you know, this whole idea of bondage and multiple partners and all that stuff,” Paul said. “He brags about that stuff, but he’s got no business being in government. It’s good riddance”.

Daskalakis, who led the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, resigned alongside three other top officials, citing concerns over the erosion of trust in vaccines and the dismantling of key public health programmes under Kennedy’s leadership. In his resignation letter, Daskalakis condemned the administration’s efforts to “erase transgender populations” and terminate HIV-related research.

The backlash to Paul’s comments was swift. Public figures and social media users criticised the senator for what many described as homophobic rhetoric. Former tennis star Martina Navratilova called Paul “a pitiful sad man,” while others pointed out the hypocrisy of judging Daskalakis’s personal life while ignoring Kennedy’s own controversial history.

Daskalakis responded to the attacks by reaffirming his commitment to public health and LGBTQ+ advocacy. “As a proud gay man, I find bullying by a member of Congress something that the community should be alert to,” he said in response to similar comments from Representative Buddy Carter, who labelled him a “BDSM Satan worshipper”.