Transgender Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Analyst Julia Curlee Dismissed After Trump’s 2025 Return

Julia Curlee, a transgender former CIA analyst who had served on the National Security Council (NSC) under Vice President Mike Pence, was terminated from her White House intelligence-briefing role shortly after President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration. A far-right influencer’s online post exposing Curlee’s gender identity preceded a Saturday-afternoon phone call from her boss informing her that she was being fired. The White House later justified the action by criticizing Curlee’s lengthy Atlantic essay.

The Straits TimesThe Advocate

Curlee joined the CIA in 2007 and, in 2013, became the agency’s first officer to transition while employed. During Trump’s first term she briefed Vice President Pence daily, despite his public opposition to LGBTQ rights. When Trump won re-election, Curlee chose to remain in the NSC, noting that senior staff treated her “very well” for about ten weeks before her dismissal. She later returned to the CIA for less than a year, describing the experience of using unisex facilities as “humiliating.”

The Straits Times

Curlee, now a fellow at the nonprofit Lawfare, said she hopes her story challenges the “transgender caricature” used by the American right.

The Straits Times

• “To live up to the hatred that they say they have, they had to fire me,” — Julia Curlee

The Straits Times

• “It was just being a handful of people, and it was complete chaos,” — Julia Curlee

The Straits Times

• “Anyone who writes a 3,000-word op-ed bragging about themselves while attacking the President clearly doesn’t belong in public service,” — White House spokesperson

The Straits Times

• “My wife and I believe in treating others the way that we’d like to be treated, with decency and respect,” — Mike Pence, former vice president

The Straits Times

• “No one has affirmed my gender identity quite like Mike Pence,” — Julia Curlee

The Advocate

Curlee’s account highlights the precarious position of transgender officials in a politically hostile environment. Her description of “constant fear of being fired” and the “humiliating” return to the CIA underscores broader concerns about the treatment of LGBTQ employees in national-security roles. By sharing her experience, Curlee aims to expose how partisan attacks can translate into personnel decisions, potentially influencing future debates over inclusion and security-clearance policies.

The Straits Times