Seattle’s Democratic mayor this week proposed a city ordinance that would strengthen protections for those seeking transgender care and surgeries, while calling out the Trump administration's "hateful, dangerous and discriminatory attacks" against the LGBTQ+ community. 

Mayor Bruce Harrell campaigned as a moderate before his win in 2021, pushing public safety and helping local businesses, according to The Seattle Times, although he has expressed support for transgender care previously. 

Harrell was elected following riots in the city after George Floyd’s death and the deadly Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone that, along with the pandemic, devastated parts of the downtown area. 

Harrell "symbolized a shift toward the center, away from some of Seattle’s further-left leaders," The Seattle Times wrote in 2023 of Harrell’s 2021 win. 

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On Thursday, conservative Seattle radio host Jason Rantz called Harrell's proposed city legislation "extreme," but "mostly toothless" and mainly "virtue signaling" to gain favor with Seattle progressives. 

Harrell proposed the legislation after President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting federal funding for providers of transgender healthcare for people under 19. 

"We are proud of Seattle’s reputation as a welcoming and inclusive city for the LGBTQ+ community and recognize their immeasurable contributions to the vibrancy and culture of our city," Harrell said in a statement this week. 

"This legislation is a tangible step to strengthen local protections and stand with our LGBTQ+ community in the face of hateful, dangerous and discriminatory attacks from the Trump administration and others, ensuring that everyone has access to essential healthcare services."

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During his speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump touted his administration's efforts to roll back "wokeness" in the U.S., while taking aim at "gender-affirming" procedures for minors.

"I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children, and forever," Trump said. "Ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body. This is a big lie. And now a message to every child in America is that you are perfect, exactly the way God made you.

"Because we're getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military, and it's already out and it's out of our society," he continued. "We don't want it. Wokeness is trouble. Wokeness is bad. It's gone."

Trump's executive orders have been met with lawsuits, though some hospitals across the country have halted transgender care after Trump’s executive orders to avoid losing funding. 

A judge in Seattle also blocked the orders in four states in one of the lawsuits filed by a group of Democrat-led states.

Harrell added that the ordinance affirms Washington state’s "Shield Law" that protects transgender people needing reproductive services and those who provide them from prosecution. 

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Harrell noted this week in a release by the city that he signed a bill in 2022 that made encroaching on reproductive or transgender care a misdemeanor offense. 

He added that, as a member of Seattle’s City Council before his election, he was a "vocal" supporter of access to transgender care for city employees. 

Harrell's office and the Trump administration did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital's Andrea Margolis and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

With a basketball in hand, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell delivered a diabolical blow to NBA fans still reeling from the loss of their former franchise. 

Harrell interrupted his State of the City address at Benaroya Hall on Tuesday to tease the return of the Seattle SuperSonics, something basketball fans in the city have been longing for since the team relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008.

The only problem? It was all said in jest. 

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"Right now, at this moment, I have an announcement to make," Harrell said, reaching beneath his podium to pull out a basketball. 

The gesture elicited loud cheers from those in attendance, but the joy in the room quickly turned to frustration after Harrell revealed that he was "just kidding."

"This is a long speech. I had to break it up a little bit here," Harrell laughed through the crowd’s reactions.

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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in September that the league would discuss the topic of expansion games at some point in the season. 

But during the NBA All-Star weekend, the topic was not raised. 

Seattle and Las Vegas — both cities with successful WNBA teams — have been floated as potential landing spots for another franchise.

Silver said back in June that both of those destinations have been previously floated. 

"There's been some discussion about going back to Seattle, potentially," Silver said at the time, via NBC Sports. "Las Vegas, no doubt, is very interested in a team. Mexico City one day."

For now, Sonics fans will just have to remain optimistic.

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