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Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Resigns Over Trump Endorsement

The mass exodus continues.

The executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans has resigned following the group's controversial endorsement of President Donald Trump, in spite of his anti-LGBTQ record.

Jerri Ann Henry, the first woman to head up the organization, was reportedly upset over the group's decision to endorse the president in an op-ed in the Washington Post. Henry's name was notably absent from the byline, with the article attributed to Log Cabin board chair Robert Kabel and vice chair Jill Homan. It praised Trump for stated plans to end new HIV infections and decriminalize homosexuality worldwide.

David Speier/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Donald Trump, President of the USA, speaks at the closing press conference of the G7 summit on 26 August 2019, in Biarritz, France. The summit took place from 24-26 August in Biarritz. (Photo by David Speier/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, he has cut funding for HIV/AIDS programs, shut down research over fetal tissue use, and appeared not to know of the plan to decriminalize homosexuality when asked about it by a reporter.

Sources told the Washington Blade Henry was upset about the endorsement as well as the organization's approach to defending that endorsement. She reportedly submitted her resignation Friday and left Monday following "harsh" discussions with board members.

Log Cabin spokesperson Charles Moran confirmed Henry resigned, saying that occurred on Monday, and adding that the "final date of her employment is undetermined at this time."

Moran said he couldn't comment further, saying he "wasn’t on the phone call she had with our board chairman" and that he therefore couldn't "speak to the tenor or tone of the conversation." He thanked her for her service and wished her the best.

Robert Turner, the former head of the D.C. chapter, announced he was leaving the group over the endorsement earlier this month with a Facebook post that mentioned Henry, saying he felt she was unable to “get anything accomplished because of a board of directors who won’t get out of her way.”

Board member Jennifer Horn also left the group due to the endorsement, saying she couldn't look her children in the eye while belonging to a group that supports this president. The endorsement also caused another board member, Rachel Hoff, who tried unsuccessfully to push for the Republican Party's platform to embrace LGBTQ rights during the 2016 Republican National Convention, to part ways with the group. The 2016 party platform did the opposite of embrace LGBTQ people, resulting in the Log Cabin Republicans choosing not to endorse Trump during that election cycle.

"The result was almost unanimous in support of endorsing President Trump for re-election," said Moran of the group's decision this time around. "We declined to endorse in 2016, so our chapter leaders wanted to make sure their voices were heard clearly and direction taken into consideration for 2020."

Trump has touted the endorsement as proof he isn't anti-LGBTQ, despite his administration's record proving the opposite, although he seemed to struggle with remembering the group's name, and incorrectly stated that they had given him an award in addition to endorsing his re-election campaign.

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