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)

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)