(Headline USA) House Speaker Mike Johnson declared Wednesday that lawmakers and staff will have to use the restroom corresponding with their biological sex, after the first ever transgender representative Democrat Sarah McBride is set to arrive on Capitol Hill.
“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,” the Louisiana Republican said. “Women deserve women’s only spaces.”
Johnson reiterated the message and stated the policy is enforceable.
“And we’re not anti anyone. We’re pro-women, and I think it’s an important policy for us to continue,” he said. “It’s always been the, I guess, an unwritten policy, but now it’s in writing.”
The statement comes a day after Johnson acknowledged that “this is an issue that Congress has never had to address before, and we’re going to do that in deliberate fashion with member consensus on it.”
A resolution to restrict McBride’s access to women’s restrooms was introduced Monday by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who pledged to fight to “keep men out of women’s spaces.”
Biological men do not belong in private women’s spaces. Period. Full stop. End of story. pic.twitter.com/IhR7kExkBU
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) November 18, 2024
Mace said the bill was aimed specifically at McBride, who was elected to the House this month from Delaware.
She added that she would fight to protect women’s rights.
“Women fought for these spaces, and I will not let them be erased to score political points with a small but loud activist class,” she said.
In response, McBride called the effort a way to “distract from the real issues facing this country.”
“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families,” the incoming member said.
McBride added, “Like all members, I will follow the rules outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them.”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
