WASHINGTON — Republican congressional leaders dodged questions surrounding Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-S.C.) resolution that would ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms in the Capitol complex, weeks after Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.) became the first ever openly transgender person elected to Congress.
In the resolution introduced on Monday evening, Mace proposed that House members and staff “may not use a single-sex facility (including a restroom, changing room, or locker room) in the Capitol or House Office Buildings, other than those corresponding to the biological sex of that individual.”
Mace has subsequently posted about the subject on X over 50 times, referring to McBride as a “man” and framing the issue around women’s privacy rights. “Women’s bathrooms are for biological women. Not men in a mini skirt,” Mace wrote in one post.
McBride, who was born male, came out as transgender when she was a 21-year-old student at American University. She has served in the Delaware State Senate since 2020 and defeated Republican John Whalen in this November’s election for Deleware’s at-large congressional district.
In response to the resolution, McBride took to X to appeal for compassion. “Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully,” McBride wrote. “I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness.”
A Politico report said that McBride influenced President Joe Biden’s views on transgender rights, having worked for Biden’s late son Beau during his 2006 Delaware Attorney General campaign while she was still in high school. She went on to work at the White House during the Obama administration and speak at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Asked whether McBride is a man or woman at a press conference Tuesday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he believes “it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect.”
“We will accommodate the needs of every single person,” Johnson added.
Later in the day, Johnson briefly addressed a gaggle of reporters to clarify his earlier comments. Johnson backpedaled and said he had rejected the premise of the question because the answer was obvious to him.
“A man is a man and a woman is a woman. A man cannot become a woman,” he said.
The two highest-ranking members of the incoming Republican Senate majority told Medill News Service they had not paid attention to the Mace resolution. Majority Leader-elect John Thune (R-S.D.) said the resolution is “not on my radar.” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the incoming Senate majority whip, said, “Is it over in the House? Oh, I haven’t seen it.”
Yet, while the resolution only sets rules for members or employees of the House, several high-profile Senators weighed in on the debate over whether transgender women like McBride should be allowed to use women’s restrooms in the Capitol.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accused Mace of using cruel tactics to generate press coverage. “It’s just mean, and it’s not how we treat other human beings,” Warren said. “She’s wrong, and I presume she’s doing this just to get attention for herself at someone else’s expense.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) echoed Warren’s sentiments in his press conference following the Democratic conference policy luncheon, saying the measure was meant as a distraction. “We in the Senate are gonna be focusing on the things we should be doing — coming forward with good judges… trying to get the budget done,” Schumer said. “As for what the Congresswoman [Mace] did, I think it’s mean and cruel.”
Two outgoing Senators — West Virginia independent Joe Manchin and Montana Democrat Jon Tester — expressed support for the resolution’s content. Manchin said he wanted to make accommodations for everybody and pointed out that the Capitol already has gender-neutral facilities. When asked whether transgender women should be allowed to use the women’s restroom, Manchin said, “I’m from West Virginia, hell no.”
Tester, meanwhile, told Medill News Service he thought banning transgender women from using women’s restrooms in the Capitol was “the right thing to do.”
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called for accommodations for all people. “Transgender people are people and they have to use the restroom facilities,” Murkowski said. “So making sure that we have restroom facilities that accommodate all visitors to our Capitol is important.”
Mace’s resolution is binding and would be enforced by the House’s Sergeant-at-Arms.
