Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Ken Martin was among the Washington elite who attended a pre-White House Correspondents Dinner party hosted by gay hookup app Grindr.
The nonsexual event was part of the app’s attempt to break into the Washington lobbying scene.
Grindr’s CEO George Arison is a registered Republican but that did not prevent Martin from showing his face.
The DNC chair was spotted alongside multiple Grindr executives, including Arison and the app’s new Head of Global Government Affairs Joe Hack at LXIV DC.
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins and former host Don Lemon were both spotted among the guests.
YouTuber Keith Edwards even suggested he had heard from multiple people that California Governor Gavin Newsom would make an appearance, though his presence has not been confirmed.
Republican Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, for whom Hack used to serve as chief of staff, also made an appearance.
Lines to get into the party, which Hack said could fit 500 guests, were seen going down the street.
Democrat National Committee Chairman Ken Martin (pictured with CEO George Arison) was among the Washington elite who attended a pre-White House Correspondents Dinner party hosted by gay hookup app Grindr
The event was part of the app’s attempt to break into the Washington scenes of lobbying and influence
Hack told TMZ on Thursday that he had even received feelers from Trump administration officials regarding the get-together, though he refused to name names.
‘We’re planting a flag. We’ve been doing policy work here now for a year, and the issues we care about are important not just to us, but to our community,’ Hack said in a separate interview with Politico.
Their main fight has been to lobby for further prevention funding for HIV cases, as they work with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to distribute testing kits.
While Trump has largely positioned himself as a more friendly conservative toward the gay and lesbian community than his predecessors, he demanded Congress cut funding for the George W Bush launched HIV-AIDS program PEPFAR last year.
Hack said that they want to encourage the Trump administration to include Grindr on whatever the program will look like going forward.
‘As the administration is contemplating PEPFAR 2.0 and what that looks like, we would like to step up in a more meaningful way as a public-private partner,’ he said.
‘We’re not looking for tax money. What we’re looking for is really to leverage the power of our platform and our unique and unparalleled reach that no other company has, and to use that on behalf of our community to grow health care access.’
Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins was the beneficiary of a $25,000 fundraiser hosted by Hack last year, Vanity Fair reported.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN and Joe Hack, Head of Global Government Affairs attend Grindr White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend Party
Collins and former host Don Lemon were both spotted among the guests
Hack expected around 500 guests to show for the party. Lines to get in stretched around the block
Democrat Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Senate, is also going to receive a fundraiser.
Arison has faced backlash for supporting Trump and former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in the past.
‘Grindr loves the First Amendment, because it’s integral to protecting America. There is no company in the world better at making connections than Grindr, so hosting the party this weekend was a no brainer,’ Arison, who is endorsing a Democrat to replace Newsom as California governor, said in a statement.
Other issues include bills that would make it harder under the law for minors to download the app and legislation regarding IVF and surrogacy for same sex couples which have support across the aisle.
‘We’ve had very productive conversations with some House Republicans on online safety and working to keep kids safe, but also do it in a way that’s privacy-forward,’ Hack said.
The app has spent over $1.6 million on in-house and outside lobbying since it registered to do so last April, with over a half million spent in the first three months of this year alone, federal disclosures said.
The Daily Mail has reached out to both Grindr and the DNC for comment.
