Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was asked whether incoming freshman Congresswoman Sarah McBride is a man or a woman as some Republican caucus members want to ban transgender women from using the women’s restroom on Capitol Hill.
McBride was elected to Congress earlier this month. She will be the first openly transgender member of Congress in January.
But on Monday, Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina introduced a resolution to ban transgender women from using the women’s restrooms in the U.S. Capitol.
She claimed she was “standing up for women,” but critics called it a direct attack on McBride as she headed to Washington and accused Mace of trying to get attention.
During the press conference with the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives on Tuesday morning, a reporter asked Johnson whether McBride is a man or a woman.
“Um, look, I’m not going to get into this,” Johnson replied. “We welcome with open arms all new members who are duly elected representatives of the people.”
He said he believes it is a “commandment that we treat all people with dignity and respect” and asserted that this will be the case.
Speaker Mike Johnson was asked during a news conference on Nov. 19 whether freshman Sarah McBride, who is transgender, is a man or a woman. He replied that he ‘will not comment on this’ and that all new members are welcome. He said “concerns about the use of toilet facilities” will be addressed in a purposeful manner, with consensus among members’
‘I’m not going to have any crazy discussions about this. There are concerns about the use of toilet facilities, changing rooms and the like. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before,” Johnson continued.
“We are going to do that in a deliberate manner, with consensus among the membership, and we will meet the needs of each individual,” he added.
He did not say what the plans are to adopt Mace’s resolution. But there are reports behind closed doors that he has promised Mace that he would include the provision in the house rules package.
Mace did not shy away when asked whether her measure was introduced specifically to attack her new colleague McBride. She said McBride should be forced to use the men’s room.
“She was born a biological male, she should use the men’s room, that’s how it should work,” Mace told reporters Monday night.
Rep.-elect Sarah McBride will enter Congress in January as the first transgender member of Congress elected to represent Delaware
Rep. Nancy Mace spoke to reporters on Nov. 19 after introducing a resolution to ban trans women from using the women’s restroom in the U.S. Capitol
However, it is not clear how the resolution will be implemented. When asked, Mace didn’t have a clear answer.
‘Here’s the deal: biological men are not allowed to be in women’s private spaces. Period,” she said.
Mace’s resolution comes as Republicans, including President-elect Trump, put attacks on transgender Americans at the forefront of their messaging ahead of the 2024 election.
McBride denounced the South Carolina congressman’s measure Monday evening with a message on X.
‘Every day, Americans get to work with people who have a different life journey than their own and treat them with respect. I hope members of Congress can extend that same kindness,” she wrote.
She called the resolution a “blatant attempt by far-right extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.”
“We should focus on reducing the costs of housing, health care and child care, not on creating culture wars,” she 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 of support.