(  )  The U.S. military chaplaincy is marking 250 years — even as the military as a whole does so.  In 1775, a year before there was a United States and six weeks after the Continental Army was formed, George Washington made a declaration that has shaped the military ever since: “We need chaplains.”  Two-hundred and fifty years later, across the globe, thousands of clergy in uniform continue to provide counsel and care to military members of a range of faiths.  One Navy chaplain says “It’s the one place that people can go where there’s essentially a sanctuary around them, wherever they find themselves.”

(  )  Democrats have filed suit, accusing President Trump of intimidating health care providers by threatening to remove federal funding for sex-change operations on children.  The complaint comes after a month in which at least eight major hospitals and hospital systems announced they would no longer perform the procedures on people under the age of 18.  The lawsuit has been filed by attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia, plus the governor of Pennsylvania.  Meanwhile, 28 states have adopted policies to ban or restrict sex-change operations and puberty-blocking drugs for children.

(  )  The Senate has confirmed Andrea Lucas to another term as commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  The move indicates Republican support for her efforts to root out Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, end the federal government’s promotion of transgenderism and protect religious freedom in the workplace.  Lucas, who was first appointed to the EEOC in 2020, secured another five-year term with a 52-to-45 party-line Senate vote.  Meanwhile, LGBT pressure groups have filed a lawsuit against the agency claiming that it has unlawfully refused to enforce protections for transgender workers.