House Speaker Mike Johnson ruled that the first transgender member of Congress cannot use women’s bathrooms in a decision that will shake the US Capitol.
Newly elected Sarah McBride, who will become the first openly transgender lawmaker when she takes office in January, will have to use the men’s facilities.
This follows a week of outrage from Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who called McBride a “man,” a predator and accused her of being “mentally ill.”
Republicans were emboldened by Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
Trump has pledged to stop taxpayer funding for sex-reassignment treatments, bar transgender people from entering the military and ban trans athletes from participating in women’s sports.
Data shows that the number of adults who identify as transgender in the U.S. is between 0.5 and 1.6 percent.
Mace had introduced a bill to prohibition transgender women the use of female bathrooms in the Capitol.
Johnson, the Republican leader, finally weighed in on the controversy in a statement Wednesday saying McBride would have to use the bathroom of her biological sex.
“All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings, such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and locker rooms, are reserved for people of that biological sex,” Johnson said in his statement.
“It is important to note that each member office has its own private bathroom and unisex bathrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” he continued. ‘Women deserve women-only spaces.’
Congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride will be the first transgender member of Congress. On Wednesday, President Johnson announced that single-sex facilities at the US Capitol are reserved for that biological sex, prohibiting them from using the women’s room on Capitol Hill.
McBride responded Wednesday afternoon in a statement in which he said he will not head to Washington to fight over bathrooms.
“Like all members, I will follow the rules outlined by President Johnson, even if I don’t agree with them,” he wrote.
“This effort to distract me from the real problems facing this country has not distracted me in recent days as I have continued to work hard preparing to represent the largest state in the union in January,” he continued.
He said serving in Congress will be the “honor of a lifetime” and he looks forward to meeting future colleagues from both sides of the aisle.
Mace said she is “standing up for women” with her campaign to stop McBride from using women’s bathrooms.
“I am also a victim of abuse. I am a rape survivor. “I have PTSD from the abuse I suffered at the hands of a man, and I know how vulnerable women and girls are in private spaces,” she responded to a reporter on Tuesday.
‘If being a feminist makes me an extremist, I’m totally here for it.
“So I’m absolutely, 100 percent going to stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a women’s bathroom, in our locker rooms or in our locker rooms.”
Mace also revealed that he received death threats due to his position at McBride.
He said he is not going to ‘shut up’ no matter if critics ‘insult me, threaten me with death, I don’t care.’ I’m not going to stop.’
Meanwhile, Greene doubled down on Mace’s resolve, describing McBride as “mentally ill” this week: “He’s a man.” He is a biological male, so he is not allowed to use our women’s bathrooms, our women’s gym, our locker rooms, and our women’s specific spaces.
“He is a biological man,” he said again. “He’s got a lot of places he can go.”
During a press conference with House Republican leaders Tuesday morning, a reporter asked Johnson if McBride is a man or a woman.
“I’m not going to get into this,” Johnson responded. “We welcome with open arms all new members who are duly elected representatives of the people.”
He said he believes it is an “order that we treat all people with dignity and respect” and affirmed that it will be so.
‘I’m not going to get involved in silly debates about this. There is a concern about the use of bathrooms and locker rooms and all that. “This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before,” Johnson continued.
“We are going to do it deliberately with the consensus of the members on the matter, and we will adapt to the needs of each person,” he added.
He reportedly engaged with Mace behind closed doors on Tuesday to include the provision in the House rules package, including his measure.
His comments were immediately met with pushback from conservatives and MAGA loyalists online. Just hours later, Johnson attempted to clarify.
President Mike Johnson was asked during a Nov. 19 press conference whether freshman Sarah McBride, who is transgender, is male or female. He responded that he was “not going to get into this” and that all new members were welcome. He said “concerns about bathroom use” will be addressed “in a deliberate manner with consensus of members.”
“Let me be unequivocally clear: a man is a man, and a woman is a woman, and a man cannot become a woman,” he said.
Mace did not shy away when asked if his measure was introduced specifically to target his incoming colleague McBride. YesHe said McBride should be forced to use the men’s bathroom.
“She was born biologically male, she should use the men’s bathroom, that’s how it should work,” Mace told reporters Monday night.
Representative-elect Sarah McBride was elected to represent Delaware in November by a double-digit margin. She will enter Congress as the first transgender member of Congress. She was previously elected to serve in the Delaware Senate.
Rep. Nancy Mace spoke to reporters on Nov. 19 after introducing a resolution to ban trans women from using the women’s bathroom in the U.S. Capitol.
However, it is unclear how the resolution would be implemented. When asked about it, Mace didn’t have a clear answer.
‘Here’s the deal: biological men shouldn’t be in women’s private spaces. Period,” he said.
Mace’s resolution comes after Republicans, including President-elect Trump, put attacks on transgender Americans at the center of their messaging ahead of the 2024 election.
McBride criticized the South Carolina congresswoman’s move Monday night with a post about X.
“Every day Americans come to work with people who have different life paths than their own and relate to them with respect. I hope members of Congress can demonstrate the same kindness,” he wrote.
He called the resolution a “blatant attempt by far-right extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans face.”
“We should focus on reducing the cost of housing, health care and child care, not on manufacturing culture wars,” he wrote. “Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible, and that’s what I’m focused on.”
McBride, who was first elected as a Delaware state senator, won the blue state by double digits earlier this year with nearly 58 percent support.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday criticized the Republican effort. He said the slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives is beginning to transition to the new Congress by “bullying a member of Congress.”
‘Is this what we’re doing? Is this the lesson you have learned from the November elections? asked.
‘Is this your priority: You want to intimidate a member of Congress instead of welcoming them to join this body so we can all work together to get things done and achieve real results for the American people?’ -Jeffries asked.
He suggested that Republicans are not really focused on reducing costs and the housing crisis.