Overview
- On Sunday Pence told CNN he was “heartened” that Julia Curlee said she had been treated with dignity when she served as his daily intelligence briefer.
- Curlee wrote in a first‑person essay for The Atlantic that she was removed from a National Security Council role in late March 2025 the same day activist Laura Loomer publicly demanded a transgender “Biden holdover” be identified and removed.
- She says policy changes after the president’s return to office led to concrete workplace impacts including restricted restroom access in federal buildings, loss of hormone coverage, removal of nondiscrimination protections, and altered passport sex markers.
- Curlee’s account that Pence treated her with ‘profound respect and dignity’ contrasts with his long public record opposing LGBTQ+ rights and has prompted calls from reporters and advocates for internal records to explain her removal.
- Coverage has focused either on Pence’s personal remarks or on Curlee’s allegations about politicized personnel actions and potential effects on morale, retention and recruitment in intelligence agencies.