He use of the US Congress bathrooms has become the first stone that some Republican legislators have thrown against the elected Democratic representative Sarah McBridethe first transgender person from the United States elected to the House of Representatives of the United States.
Without having yet taken the oath, as he will do so in January, the attacks from the most radical and conservative wing of the party, loyal to the president-elect, Donald Trump, have already begun to organize against McBride. On Monday, South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Maceintroduced a resolution to amend House rules to ban transgender women from using women’s bathrooms in the Capitol. “He is a biological man” and “he does not belong to the women’s spaces, women’s bathrooms and changing rooms“the Republican told reporters on Monday.
On Tuesday, the president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnsonrefused to answer in a press conference whether McBride is a man or a woman. “Look, I’m not going to go into that. We welcome with open arms all new members who are duly elected representatives of the people,” Johnson responded to the press question. Regarding her party partner’s proposal, Johnson stated that “there is a concern about the uses of bathrooms and changing rooms” and that “this is an issue that Congress has never had to address before” and will be done “in a deliberate manner.” , with the consensus of the members in this regard”. “We will adapt to the needs of each person,” he added.
But Johnson’s position finally changed on Wednesday. The Speaker of the House of Representatives announced that transgender women cannot use women’s bathrooms in the Capitol: “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, are reserved for people of that biological sex,” Johnson said in a statement Wednesday. “It is important to note “Every member office has its own private bathroom and unisex bathrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” she added. “Women deserve women-only spaces,” she concluded.
In its initial request, the republican Mace stated that “allowing biological males to enter single-sex facilities, such as restrooms, locker rooms, and locker rooms designed for women, jeopardizes the safety and dignity of members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives who are women.” This petition had the support of figures such as Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene: “He is a biological man and should not use any of our bathrooms in the Capitol, much less in our office buildings. But Nancy Mace’s resolution is not enough “he stated.
Through a message on red social XMcBride downplayed the proposal, saying this is “a blatant attempt by far-right extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions for what Americans face.” “We should focus on reducing the cost of housing, health care and child care, not creating culture wars,” he said. When she takes office, McBride will be the first transgender person in the United States Congress. All this after defeating, at 34 years old, the Republican candidate John Whalen III. The politician had been elected to the Delaware Senate in 2021 and then became the first transgender person to serve as a state senator in the United States.
