As the world was formally introduced to Caitlyn Jenner, celebs and President Barack Obama tweeted out tons of love and support, but so too did LGBT groups and other politicians in Washington, D.C.
(With the release of her Vanity Fair cover on June 1, Caitlyn has chosen to publicly identify as a woman and E! News will refer to her using female pronouns. In stories published prior to this date, Caitlyn was referred to as Bruce and male pronouns were used.)
Jay Brown, Human Rights Campaign Foundation director of research and public education told E! News in a statement, "This is a historic moment of visibility that gives hope to many, including many transgender youth who before this did not have many figures to look up to in the national media. It's clear that Caitlin Jenner understands the importance of visibility, and this brave and very public step is inspiring to all of us."
"There is nothing that builds acceptance more than LGBT people coming out. Nothing," Cyd Zeigler co-founder of Outsports tells E! News. "As the world meets Caitlyn Jenner today, a few will continue to hold to prejudices of the past, but so many more will listen and learn, opening their hearts and minds to her and other trans people. This isn't just another big step forward for Caitlyn, it's a giant leap for all of us struggling to build acceptance for everyone."
GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis told E! News in a statement, "By sharing her journey with the world, Caitlyn Jenner is accelerating acceptance of transgender people everywhere and reminds us all how important it is to live as your most authentic self."
Also Mara Keisling from the National Center for Transgender Equality told E! News, "I congratulate Caitlyn Jenner at this moment she is in. It is a big deal. This isn't the end of bigotry and ignorance, but it is the end for some people. It is a milestone."
Jenner admitted during her sit-down with Diane Sawyer that she was a Republican and the most outspoken LGBT conservative group, the Log Cabin Republicans, tweeted "Welcome to the world @Caitlyn_Jenner! Log Cabin Republicans congratulates you for being true to yourself in all ways! #BigTent."
Another republican, Florida congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (who has a transgender son), responded to Log Cabin Republican executive director Gregory T Angelo's tweet about introducing Caitlyn to D.C. republicans by sending out her office address.
Other D.C. politicos also tweeted out their reactions, including President Obama's senior advisor Valarie Jarrett.
E! News has reached out to presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, Rick Santorum, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and newly announced Lindsey Graham for comment.
Rand Paul's campaign told E! News they were not commenting.
Last month, Santorum said to a group of reporters about Jenner, "If he says he's a woman, then he's a woman. My responsibility as a human being is to love and accept everybody. Not to criticize people for who they are."
—Additional reporting by Senta Scarborough, Ruth O'Neill and Sara Kitnick