Origin
In December 2020, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden named Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and former Democratic presidential primary candidate, as his nominee for the position of transportation secretary. The announcement prompted a wave of news articles reporting that Buttigieg, who is a gay man, would become the first openly LGBT Cabinet member in United States history if his appointment is confirmed by the Senate.
However, internet users mocked LGBT publication Queerty for describing Buttigieg in those terms after screenshots of an earlier tweet appeared to show the website using similar words to describe Richard Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence (DNI) under outgoing President Donald Trump.