Steven Hotze is a wealthy and influential Texas Republican donor. He has spent decades working to undermine LGBTQ+ rights and his choices have the potential to radically undermine access to healthcare for millions. Hotze has long made a name for himself advocating for highly controversial positions. His administration has been marinated in bigotry, once referring to LGBTQ+ Americans as “termites” and morally degenerate. He has a long track record of activism on behalf of anti-LGBTQ+ rights. His efforts go so far as to try to legalize housing discrimination and to fight against healthcare mandates that protect marginalized communities.
As for the past, back in 1982 Hotze helped start a petition drive in Austin to make it legal to discriminate against gay people in housing. He has been a clear and able opponent of what he sees as the moral, spiritual, and social climate destruction that he attributes to LGBTQ+ rainbow lifestyles. In one such interview, he infamously declared that he cared more about “the deviant, perverted lifestyle” than protecting property rights. His rhetoric has caused civil rights advocates to panic. They contend that these attitudes encourage a dangerous, hyper-masculine intolerance.
In 2017, Hotze threw his full support behind Roy Moore. Moore, the divisive Alabama Senate candidate, was accused just last month of sexually coercing teenagers in the late 1970s. During his endorsement, Hotze explicitly stated that he intends to help install political leaders who agree with him politically to oppose LGBTQ+ rights. This move only emboldens his position amongst his Republican base.
Here’s the voicemail he left for Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In it, he implored him to “dominate the son of the bitches,” in reference to the protestors calling for racial justice. As such, these incendiary comments have warranted widespread condemnation from across the aisle and demonstrate how extreme Hotze’s beliefs really are.
His influence reaches even into Christian healthcare, through his for-profit Braidwood Management. In 2020, Braidwood Management filed a lawsuit challenging the federal requirement under the Affordable Care Act that mandates insurers and group health plans cover preventive services such as cancer screenings and medications like PrEP. Hotze claimed that these requirements infringed upon the religious liberties of his business.
That near-immediate lawsuit garnered national headlines when a Texas district court ruled in favor of Braidwood Management. The court ruled that the U.S. government had infringed on the firm’s religious liberty. With this decision we are opening the door for greater healthcare access to those in need. It especially protects the LGBTQ+ community and those dependent on preventive services.
We noted that in January 2023, an appeals court unanimously upheld the groundbreaking decision. This ruling enabled Hotze to establish dress codes and deny hiring LGBTQ applicants. However, these legal victories have alarmed advocacy groups, who warn that they portend a healthcare equity disaster and the undermining of anti-discrimination law as we know it.
Additionally, Hotze has actively promoted hormone therapies as treatments for serious health conditions and touted a vitamin supplement, Skinny Pak, as a cure for coronavirus. In truth, critics say that’s not the case—that his business interests are in direct conflict with his public stance against LGBTQ+ rights. Advocates for healthcare reform are truly alarmed by his moves. They are concerned that these enforcement actions are doing deep harm to vulnerable populations that depend on essential healthcare services.
Susan Polan, a healthcare advocate, expressed deep concerns regarding the ramifications of Hotze’s views: “We’re talking about people who cannot afford this care, who will have to choose between a mammogram and rent.” Her testimony highlights the desperate circumstances thousands of people might find themselves in if proposed cuts to healthcare are enacted.
Legal scholars have similarly decried Hotze’s case, which is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision will undoubtedly have lasting effects on the future relationship between religious freedom laws and anti-discrimination statutes. As civil rights attorney Kae Greenberg explained, this is a deeply concerning loophole. It’s about stopping people’s treatment just because they’re gay, drug addicts or whatever,” she continued, “no matter how people are treating themselves that the plaintiffs don’t like. It’s using the law to legitimize bigotry.”
Hotze has been a powerful force in Republican politics, personally donating millions to countless Texas Republicans, including Senator Ted Cruz. His willingness to open his checkbook makes his record as influential in establishing him as a key player in shaping the future of the party on LGBTQ+ issues.