The issue of where a transgender woman may use the restroom in the U.S. Capitol has come to an end.
That’s due to what House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said — transgender women cannot use women’s restrooms in the Capitol and House office buildings, per a report on ABC News.
The same holds true for changing rooms and locker rooms, Johnson said.
“All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” a statement from Johnson said Wednesday.
“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Johnson said.
The issue needed to be addressed after Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D) became the first openly trans member of Congress when McBride won the sole seat to represent Delaware.
“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families,” McBride said Wednesday. “Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has proposed a bill that would not allow transgender women from using women’s restrooms in the Capitol. She lauded Johnson’s decision on the matter.
“I am proud to be a woman, and today, women won,” Mace said. “And I’m not going to stop there. I have another bill that I’ve drafted, and I will file it when we get back in December — if you’re a federally funded educational institution, school, etcetera, women have to be protected, too, in private spaces. So this is just the start.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), on the other hand, called the decision “disgusting.”
“Because if you ask them, ‘What is your plan on how to enforce this?’ they won’t come up with an answer. And what it inevitably results in are women and girls who are primed for assault because they want, because people are going to want to check their private parts in suspecting who is trans and who is cis and who’s doing what,” she said.
Mace has said her bill was “absolutely” in response to McBride’s victory and imminent role in the House.
“Yes, and absolutely. And then some,” Mace said. “I’m not going to stand for a man, you know, someone with a penis, in the women’s locker room,” she said.
She added she had not met with McBride to discuss the issue.
“She doesn’t get a say in this. This is about women’s rights, and at some point we have to draw a line in the sand,” Mace said. “I’m somebody who’s very socially sensible. I voted for gay marriage, not once, but twice.”
“He was born a biological male,” she said of McBride. “It’s not — I’m not into pronouns. I don’t care. I try to be as respectful as I can. I’ll even work with with him or her on legislation. I work with anyone who’s willing to work with me, but I’m not going to play into this gender ideology, this wackadoo lunatic, crazy thing that men want to force on women.”
It is not clear who this will be enforced.
“This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January,” McBride said Wednesday.
McBride is receiving support from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and the Democratic Women’s Caucus.
“Instead of focusing on lowering costs and real solutions to improve the health and safety of women and families, Republicans are cruelly attacking our new Member to distract from their inability to govern. We won’t stand for it,” per a statement by the women’s caucus on X, formerly Twitter.
Jeffries asserted the GOP is bullying McBride.
“This incoming, small, House Republican Conference majority is beginning to transition to the new Congress by bullying a member of Congress,” he said Tuesday. “This is what we’re doing? This is the lesson that you’ve drawn from the election in November? This is your priority, that you want to bully a member of Congress, as opposed to welcoming her to join this body so that all of us can work together to get things done and deliver real results for the American people?”
