Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) is breaking ranks with the Trump administration over its decision to eliminate a suicide hotline option for LGBTQ+ youth – calling the move “wrong” and urging an immediate reversal, according to a report in NOTUS.The New York Republican took to his X account Wednesday evening to condemn the looming shutdown of the “Press 3” LGBTQ+ option on the national 988 hotline, a move announced Tuesday by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The change is set to take effect on July 17.“This is wrong,” Lawler told his social media followers. “According to studies, LGBTQ+ young people have an elevated risk of suicide and are more likely than their peers to attempt it. We should ensure they have the resources necessary to get help. The 988 hotline has been a lifesaver. This decision should be reversed.”Lawler’s split with the MAGA White House comes after he first sounded the alarm over the proposed cuts in May, NOTUS reported. In a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Republican lawmaker wrote that ending the hotline would be a “devastating setback.” He cited CDC data showing heightened suicide risk among LGBTQ+ young people.The Trump administration said in a statement this week, obtained by NOTUS, that the decision was based on a desire “to no longer silo LGB+ youth services, also known as the ‘Press 3 option,’ to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option.”The publication noted that the statement “omitted the ‘T’ which served to include transgender people in the well-known acronym.” Meanwhile, The Trevor Project, which held the government contract for the hotline, said it will keep offering crisis support services despite the federal cut.“Suicide prevention is about people, not politics,” CEO Jaymes Black said Wednesday. “The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.”This is wrong. According to studies, LGBTQ+ young people have an elevated risk of suicide and are more likely than their peers to attempt it. We should ensure they have the resources necessary to get help. The 988 hotline has been a lifesaver. This decision should be reversed. https://t.co/RJ6D2eX8cp— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) June 18, 2025
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