Donald Trump has failed in an attempt to halt federal support for a historical marker recognising one of Ohio’s most influential drag organisations.
The decision means drag troupe The Rubi Girls have now been formally honoured for four decades of fundraising and community service.
Donald Trump‘s administration had previously moved to end funding for LGBTQ+ historical marker projects, but the recognition was ultimately secured.
Donald Trump And The Rubi Girls Recognition
An official Ohio historical marker has been unveiled outside the Rubi Clubhouse in Dayton, recognising the Rubi Girls’ decades-long contribution to HIV, LGBTQIA+ and community organisations.
The comedic drag troupe, formed in 1984, has raised more than US$3 million for charities over the past 40 years. Their fundraising initially focused on HIV/AIDS organisations during the height of the epidemic before expanding to support a broad range of community groups.
According to The Buckeye Flame, the marker was installed through the Gay Ohio History Initiative’s “Marking Diverse Ohio” project after years of research and collaboration with historians from the Ohio History Connection.
Founding member Tim Farquhar said the project narrowly escaped being affected by funding cuts introduced under the Trump administration.
“Ours was the last [LGBTQ+] marker [of 10] up for consideration before [the Trump administration] stopped funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion markers,” Farquhar said. “We were able to push it through.”
The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cancelled a US$250,000 grant in 2025 that was intended to create 10 new LGBTQ+ historical markers across Ohio.
The move is part of the Trump administration’s rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, as well as broader policies affecting LGBTQIA+ communities in the United States, particularly more recent attacks on the trans community the Trump administration. The Rubi Girls marker has now become a symbol of preserving queer history despite those political challenges which are constantly under threat in the United States at present.
Reflecting on the group’s beginnings, Farquhar said philanthropy was never the original goal.
“We never really started off this whole situation to be philanthropic, or to do something good for the community,” Farquhar said. “It started off because none of us had any money. We were college students and we wanted something fun to do.”
Last year alone, The Rubi Girls helped raise more than US$100,000 for over 100 charities and community organisations, including transgender support groups, food banks, housing services, arts organisations and Dayton Black Pride.
Farquhar said the new marker carries added significance amid ongoing political debates around drag performance and transgender rights.
“[The marker is an] extreme honor for the Rubi Girls,” Farquhar said. “But it comes at such a critical time in our state’s history, as officials in the state of Ohio are trying to ban drag in many public places and honestly attack the transgender community.”
“When you walk by that marker, I want you to know that when we gave an organization money, we know that their principles and their core values align with ours” he continued.
“Sometimes some of the people who are receiving the benefits of that money might not feel the same way that we do or have the same social outlook.”
“That’s okay. We gave from our heart, and we gave to everyone who needed it. That’s what’s important to me.”
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