LGBTQ dating app Grindr hires Washington lobbying firm

INASHINGTON — LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr is tapping into Washington’s lobbying scene amid legislative battles over access to reproductive health care.

The “Global Gayborhood” has hired The Daschle Group, founded by former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, to lobby for “HIV prevention; challenges related to forming LGTBQ families, including surrogacy and in vitro fertilization,” according to federal disclosures filed last week.

The Senate is facing competing bills to protect in vitro fertilization after an Alabama court ruled that the treatment was inadvertently banned. Democrats forced a vote on the IVF Rights Act in June, with only two Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — voting for the legislation. Other Republicans have argued that the bill is a “scare tactic” and “fear mongering” by Democrats on a hot-button issue ahead of the election cycle, and have pushed their own version that would strip Medicaid funds from states that ban in vitro fertilization.

But Democrats say the bill allows states to impose other restrictions on in vitro fertilization care and support.

Lobbying for access to the HIV-prevention drug known as PrEP has also intensified in Washington after a federal court ruled on a case that questioned whether a volunteer, national panel of doctors and scientists can require free coverage for treatment.

Grindr’s foray into lobbying is notable for a platform that officially calls itself a “social app” but is best known for helping users find potential sex partners in their area. In a 2022 article, Vice News described the app as “a 24/7 sex carousel in your neighborhood.” No other popular dating app has signed up to lobby on health care issues, according to a review of federal disclosures by STAT. Match Group, which owns popular dating apps Tinder and Hinge, spent $650,000 last quarter lobbying on digital privacy issues.

It’s unclear how much Grindr pays Daschle Group to lobby on its behalf. Grindr and Daschle Group did not respond to requests for comment.

The Daschle Group represents a wide range of healthcare companies, from hospital chain Ballad Health to vaccine makers Bavarian Nordic and Valneva. The firm is particularly known for lobbying on infectious disease issues and serves as a lobbying firm for the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, the Coalition to Stop Flu and the Antimicrobials Working Group.

Daschle, who serves as CEO of Daschle Group, has a complicated personal history with the gay community. In 1996, he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied same-sex couples the same rights as same-sex couples. He has also been an outspoken attacker of gay marriage from his Senate seat, telling the Associated Press in 2004: “Marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman. That’s what the vast majority of Americans believe. That’s what virtually every South Dakotan believes. That’s what I believe, too.”

But Daschle also played a key role in defeating a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Daschle was eventually honored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force for his role in defeating the measure. In 2013, he also joined several former lawmakers in urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, writing, “Same-sex families have proven to be stable, healthy environments for children and valuable members of our communities. There is no evidence that extending legal recognition to same-sex marriage has discouraged heterosexual marriage or encouraged fathers to abandon their children.”

Daschle himself is not registered to lobby on behalf of the company, according to the documents. Instead, the company has hired corporate lobbyists Charlie Panfil and Joe Hack.

According to his official biography, Panfil was the “youngest person to be named to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund National Campaign Board,” which works to elect LGBTQ+ politicians.

Hack most recently served as chief of staff to Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), who has had mixed experiences on gay rights herself. After the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, Fischer issued a statement saying that people of all sexual orientations should be treated with respect but that “there are good people with strong convictions on both sides of this issue.” In 2023, she voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which formally repealed the Defense of Marriage Act.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the reason for Alabama’s in vitro fertilization ban.