Julia Curlee, a former senior CIA officer, poses for a photo in Washington, DC, on August 25, 2026. When President Donald Trump returned to power last year in 2025, Julia Curlee, a longtime CIA analyst and transgender woman, opted to continue serving as a senior official at the White House despite right-wing attacks on trans issues. But after a far-right influencer publicized her transgender identity online, the White House immediately dismissed her. "They needed me. They asked me to stay" when Trump succeeded Joe Biden in the presidency, Curlee told AFP in an interview, over a year after she was fired. "But the moment (my gender identity) became public and a political problem with their supporters, that's when they got rid of me." (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

Julia Curlee, a former senior CIA officer, poses for a photo in Washington, DC, on August 25, 2026. When President Donald Trump returned to power last year in 2025, Julia Curlee, a longtime CIA analyst and transgender woman, opted to continue serving as a senior official at the White House despite right-wing attacks on trans issues. But after a far-right influencer publicized her transgender identity online, the White House immediately dismissed her. "They needed me. They asked me to stay" when Trump succeeded Joe Biden in the presidency, Curlee told AFP in an interview, over a year after she was fired. "But the moment (my gender identity) became public and a political problem with their supporters, that's when they got rid of me." (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

Julia Curlee, a former senior CIA officer, poses for a photo in Washington, DC, on August 25, 2026. When President Donald Trump returned to power last year in 2025, Julia Curlee, a longtime CIA analyst and transgender woman, opted to continue serving as a senior official at the White House despite right-wing attacks on trans issues. But after a far-right influencer publicized her transgender identity online, the White House immediately dismissed her. "They needed me. They asked me to stay" when Trump succeeded Joe Biden in the presidency, Curlee told AFP in an interview, over a year after she was fired. "But the moment (my gender identity) became public and a political problem with their supporters, that's when they got rid of me." (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump speaks during a back to school event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) attends a meeting with his foreign minister Asaad Shaibani (2nd-R) and Mazloum Abdi (3rd-L), the leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), at the People's Palace in Damascus on August 25, 2026. The leader of the SDF, the Washington-backed de facto army at the forefront of the battle against the Islamic State jihadist group announced their dissoluton on August 25. After being Syria's most highly-trained and organised force for years, Washington promptly dropped the SDF for the new US-friendly authorities in Damascus after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALkasem / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa attends a meeting with his foreign minister and the leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), at the People's Palace in Damascus on August 25, 2026. The leader of the SDF, the Washington-backed de facto army at the forefront of the battle against the Islamic State jihadist group announced their dissoluton on August 25. After being Syria's most highly-trained and organised force for years, Washington promptly dropped the SDF for the new US-friendly authorities in Damascus after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALkasem / AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) In this handout provided by The White House, President George W. Bush (C) and First Lady Laura Bush (3rd-R) stand with the Kennedy Center honorees (L-R) singer and songwriter Smokey Robinson, musical theater composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, country singer Dolly Parton, film director Steven Spielberg and conductor Zubin Mehta, in the Blue Room of the White House during a reception for the annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala on December 3, 2006 in Washington, DC. Legendary US singer-songwriter and country music legend Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, her family announced on August 25, 2026. (Photo by ERIC DRAPER / THE WHITE HOUSE / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / THE WHITE HOUSE / ERIC DRAPER" - HANDOUT - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 25: A tarp remains in place on the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on August 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. Lawyers for the center said a tarp originally set up outside during the removal of President Trump’s name will remain while crews conduct structural repairs. Since attempting to add President Trump's name to the center, ticket sales and fundraising efforts have collapsed, according to a Washington Post report. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)