President-elect Donald Trump promised to support the LGBT community on the campaign trail.
"I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of the hateful foreign ideology," he proclaimed at this year's GOP convention.
But activists say his potential cabinet is overwhelmingly connected to anti-LGBT causes, and they're worried that Trump's team will work to rollback on the rights and progress that LGBT people have gained in the past several years.
"How can Donald Trump say that he is supportive of LGBT people if these are the people he chooses to surround himself with?" says
.
Attorney General candidate Jeff Sessions is one reason for people's concern.
"As the Attorney General of Alabama, he was actively trying to stop an LGBT conference from happening at the University of Alabama," says Grindley. "This is the person you're supposed to go to for justice."
Even Elaine Chao is drawing fire as the pick for Transportation Secretary, despite transportation and infrastructure having nothing to do with LGBT issues.
But activists say that her tenure as Labor Secretary in the George W. Bush administration included efforts against LGBT employees. Plus, her husband is Republican Senator Mitch McConnell.
"McConnell, in the Senate, has been no friend to LGBT people," says Grindley. "He's voted against hate crimes laws and voted against the employment non-discrimination act which ensures we can't be discriminated against in hiring and firing."
He adds that he doesn't believe Trump's promises on the campaign trail are enough.
"I guess we're supposed to be grateful that he wants us to stop from being murdered, but this is a really low bar," he says. "We can still be fired for having a picture of our husband on our desk."