The Republican Party-controlled House approved the proposal rules package on Friday evening, including provisions aimed at the rights of transgender people and immigrants, but notably does not include the ban on trans bathrooms that Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) proposed.
The Republican introduced her controversial ban in November to restrict access to all ‘single-sex facilities'[ies] on federal property” based on “biological sex.” She admitted to HuffPost the ban specifically targeted new Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first transgender woman elected to Congress.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, who narrowly won re-election to the chamber’s top post earlier on Friday, had reportedly assured Mace that her bathroom ban would be included in the package.
Mace congratulated Johnson on his re-election and made no mention of the toilet ban’s absence from the rules package.
“Speaker Mike Johnson has rightly been re-elected to lead the House again. His leadership provides a clear path forward to restore safety, security and accountability to our nation,” she said in a statement.
“We have a mandate to secure our borders, rebuild the economy and hold Washington accountable. Speaker Johnson understands this, and with President Trump’s leadership, we are ready to deliver on those promises and deliver on the America First agenda.”
Mace spent much of the final weeks of 2024 rallying support for the ban, while using anti-trans slurs and engaging in anti-trans theatrics. After protesters were arrested for organizing a sit-in in a restroom at the U.S. Capitol, Mace loudly read their Miranda rights through a bullhorn in the jail where they were being held.
Mac too introduced legislation in September to ban medical providers from offering gender-affirming care to minors. Twenty-five states have passed similar bans, and the Supreme Court will decide this summer whether such bans are constitutional and determine the future of health care for trans youth.
Mace and McBride did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The rules package, which is adopted at the beginning of each congressional session, sets the rules for the next two years in the House of Representatives. Most of its provisions are uncontroversial.
Notably, this congressional package raises the threshold for a “motion to vacate,” the tactic conservatives used to impeach former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023. While previously only one member could submit such a motion, now nine members of the majority party must agree.
While Friday’s rules package makes no mention of restricting access to single-sex government facilities, it does require several changes to the rights of transgender people, immigrants and people seeking abortions.
One item in the package would expedite a bill to amend Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding. The new bill would restrict school sports based on gender assigned at birth, undoing Biden’s Title IX guidelines that expanded protections for LGBTQ+ students.
The amendment, introduced by Rep. Gregory Steube (R-Fla.) and co-sponsored by Mace, would recognize sex as defined “solely on the basis of a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” The language mirrors that of dozens of state laws that currently ban transgender students from participating in sports that align with their gender identity and other policies that prohibit transgender people of all ages from updating their gender marker on government IDs.
The package also speeds legislation targeting abortion providers, prevents sanctuary cities from offering benefits to undocumented immigrants, and bans immigrants convicted of certain crimes from entering the United States.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) criticized the rules package for accelerating a dozen bills targeting vulnerable communities before Friday night’s vote.
“This package seeks to fool the American people by scapegoating immigrants and transgender people in the hopes that it will distract you from the fact that Republicans’ first step in the 119th Congress is to do absolutely nothing to to help you and your family build a better life. life,” Jayapal said.
