House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday banned transgender people from using bathrooms not intended for their “biological sex,” days after Republican Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a measure that would ban transgender women from using women’s bathrooms and other facilities at Capitol Hill.
“All sex facilities in the Capitol and House of Representatives office buildings — such as restrooms, locker rooms and locker rooms — are reserved for persons of that biological sex,” Johnson said in a statement.
“It is important to note that each member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” he said. “Women deserve only women’s spaces.”
The bathroom restriction comes as the U.S. House of Representatives welcomes the first openly transgender member of Congress, Delaware Rep.-elect. Sarah McBride, will swear in.
What did Mace’s proposed legislation say?
Mace’s two-page legislation proposes that members, officers and employees of the House of Representatives would be prohibited from using “same-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes.”
South Carolina’s representative argues in the measure that allowing biological males into single-sex facilities “jeopardizes the safety and dignity of female members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives.”
Mace — who said she received death threats over the legislation — said she wants her bill reflected in the House rules for the 119th Congress, which will spell out how the lower chamber of Congress will function over the next two years. The new Congress will vote on the House rules in January 2025.
Mixed response from lawmakers
When a reporter asked Monday if she was going after a marginalized person, Mace called out the incoming representative from Delaware. “Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say in this. This is a biological male trying to insinuate himself into women’s space, and I’m not going to tolerate that,” Mace said.
Fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters Monday that while she supports a resolution like Mace’s, she believes the ban should extend to “all taxpayer-funded facilities.”
Like Mace, Greene also mishandled McBride, saying, “He’s a man. He is a biological male.”
Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota called Mace’s proposal “pathetic” and asked her what she was “afraid of.” Mace fired back, “I don’t want people with penises [sic] showing them in our dressing room.
On Tuesday, Johnson was asked during a House GOP leadership press conference whether McBride is a man or a woman — but said, “I’m not going to get into that.”
“We welcome with open arms all new members who are duly elected representatives of the people,” Johnson replied. “I believe it is a commandment that we treat all people with dignity and respect, and we will do that. I’m not going to have stupid discussions about this.”
“This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before and we are going to do it in a purposeful way, with consensus among the members, and we will meet the needs of every single person,” Johnson continued.
McBride calls legislation a distraction
McBride responded to Mace’s proposed measure in a post on We should focus on reducing the costs of housing, health care and child care, not on creating culture wars.”
