Ogles deletes anti-gay post after backlash from both parties

Andy Ogles faced a rare public rebuke from inside his own party after an X post declaring that “Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month” drew immediate backlash from Republicans and Democrats alike. The Tennessee congressman later deleted the message and said it had been written by “a member of my comms team,” adding that the employee had been reprimanded.

The timing sharpened the reaction. The post landed just as Pride Month began on Monday, June 1, 2026, and it invoked Tennessee’s newly designated Nuclear Family Month, a symbolic recognition signed by Gov. Bill Lee in April. House Joint Resolution 182 defines a nuclear family as one husband, one wife, and children, including biological, adopted and foster children, but it does not create enforceable law or funding.

What made the episode stand out was not only the message itself, but the speed and breadth of the Republican backlash. New York Rep. Mike Lawler called the post “absolutely idiotic,” arguing that gay and lesbian people include Ogles’s family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and constituents. Sen. Ted Cruz also rejected the rhetoric, saying homosexuality has been part of humanity for all of recorded history and that consenting adults’ behavior is their business. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise called the post “inappropriate” and “reprehensible.”

That kind of cross-party rejection is notable in a Republican conference that has often tolerated incendiary digital messaging when it targets cultural flashpoints. Here, the line appeared to be explicit anti-gay language, especially when placed against a month that marks LGBTQ pride in communities across the country. The response suggested that even in today’s GOP, there are boundaries some members will say should not be crossed in public.

Democrats, including Rep. Katherine Clark and Rep. Shri Thanedar, also condemned the post, deepening the criticism around Ogles as he tried to shift blame to staff. In a follow-up explanation, Ogles described the message as “stupid, hurtful, and a complete distraction.” The episode followed earlier backlash to another inflammatory Ogles post this year, when he wrote that “Muslims don’t belong in America,” reinforcing a pattern that has kept his social media use at the center of controversy.