Peppermint (L) and Javier Muñoz speak at a rally at the U.S. Capitol. (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Peppermint and actor Javier Muñoz on Sept. 3 traveled to Capitol Hill and urged lawmakers to oppose HIV/AIDS funding cuts.
Muñoz, who starred in “Hamilton,” and Peppermint, who finished second in the ninth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), U.S. Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand, (D-N.Y.), U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), and other members of New York’s Congressional delegation. Muñoz and Peppermint also joined U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and HIV/AIDS activists at a rally that took place at the House Triangle.
“We’re here to save HIV funding because it’s in jeopardy,” Peppermint told the Washington Blade during an interview before she and Muñoz went to the Capitol. “Our legislature is making wild cuts as the result of the big bill, which affects many communities across the board, but especially in the realm of health care.”
“We’re here to figure out why and to speak with our legislators to remind them that people who are greatly impacted by this are also voters,” she added.
Muñoz noted this issue is personal to him — he has lived with HIV since 2002.
“I’m living with HIV … there are people that you love, so there’s a personal stake in this fight for us,” said Muñoz.
The Save HIV Funding Campaign, which organized the rally, noted the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee’s fiscal year 2026 spending bill would “gut” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HIV prevention programs, cut $525 million from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, defund the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative and “strip services from more than 1.2 million Americans living with HIV.”
The New York Times last month reported the Office of Management and Budget that Russell Vought directs “has apportioned” only $2.9 billion of $6 billion that Congress set aside for PEPFAR for fiscal year 2025. (PEPFAR in the coming fiscal year will use funds allocated in fiscal year 2024.)
Bipartisan opposition in the U.S. Senate prompted the Trump-Vance administration in July withdraw a proposal to cut $400 million from PEPFAR’s budget. Vought on Aug. 29 said he would use a “pocket rescission” to cancel $4.9 billion in foreign aid that Congress had already approved.
HIV/AIDS activists who rallied in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Tuesday demanded the Trump-Vance administration fully fund PEPFAR. Housing Works CEO Charles King and five others later sat in the intersection of 17th and H Streets, N.W., blocking traffic for about 20 minutes.
“This is a bipartisan fight for the last 35 years,” said Muñoz in response to the Blade’s question about meeting with Democrats and Republicans. “We need everyone at the table and this is probably more urgent than it’s ever been before, because these cuts are so extreme.”
“AIDS and HIV, education and prevention is crucial, regardless of what party someone is,” added Peppermint.
She reiterated the fight against HIV/AIDS has “been bipartisan, and it’s been the key factor that has gotten us to where we are with regards to somewhat lowered rates and more education and more access.” Muñoz said people with HIV/AIDS — and in particular those who are from communities that are particularly vulnerable to the disease — will die if lawmakers cut funding.
“We’re talking about trans women of color. We’re talking about Latin and Black gay men, and we’re talking about Black women,” Muñoz told the Blade. “So, you can’t tell me that there isn’t a part of this that isn’t racist and homophobic.”
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
