Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first openly transgender person elected to serve in Congress, called moves by House Republicans to ban her from using women’s restrooms in the Capitol “small-minded ‘ and an ‘attempt to mislead’ from other policy priorities.
“I think we can all agree that attempts to attack a vulnerable community are not just mean-spirited, but are actually an attempt at deception,” McBride told CBS News’ ‘Face the Nation’. “Every time we hear the new administration or Republicans in Congress talk about a vulnerable group in this country, we must be clear that it is an attempt to distract.”
She added: “It’s an attempt to distract from what they’re actually doing. Every time, every time we hear them say the word “trans,” look what they do with their right hand. Look what they are doing to pick the pockets of American workers, to cheat seniors by privatizing Social Security and Medicare,” McBride added.
In a separate interview on Sunday, she also characterized ongoing Republican moves to limit where she can use the bathroom on Capitol Hill as “a lot of noise.”
“The last two years, the last two weeks, there’s definitely been a lot of noise around me, but I’ve stayed focused,” McBride told MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”
She added that she did not run for her seat, where she will start as a first-term congresswoman in January, to avoid causing a stir.
“I didn’t run to finish first. I didn’t run away to make history. I ran to serve this state I love and to help the people of Delaware,” McBride said.
Her comments come as Republicans have stepped up attacks against her in the past two weeks, with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., backing a resolution that would ban House members and staff from “using sex facilities other than those which correspond to their biological sex.”
Shortly after the resolution’s filing, Mace made it clear that the measure was “absolutely” aimed at McBride.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., sponsored a resolution that would limit home bathrooms to bathrooms that correspond with a person’s biological sex.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., joined Mace in saying in a statement: “All sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings — such as restrooms, locker rooms and locker rooms — are reserved for persons of that biological sex.”
He added that “each member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”
On Sunday, Mace doubled down on her anti-trans rhetoric, telling Fox News: “So many women today feel braver and have more courage because I spoke out. They feel like they are supported.”
In the wake of Mace and Johnson’s statements, Democrats in both chambers of Congress have endorsed McBride and condemned Republicans for targeting her.
On Sunday, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth branded Mace “disgusting and wrong,” telling CNN, “We have problems here in this country, and yet she is concerned about a member of Congress using the bathroom. First of all, I think her position is disgusting and wrong, but I also think we have a lot more to worry about than where someone is going to pee.
During Thursday’s White House press conference, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that President Joe Biden is “very proud of” McBride, adding: “What [McBride] said is, “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and lower costs for families.” And we agree with her.”
And on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused House Republicans of “bullying” McBride.
“This incoming Republican Conference majority in the House of Representatives is beginning to cross over to the new Congress by bullying a member of Congress,” Jeffries told reporters.
He added: “This is what we do? Is this the lesson you learned from the November election? This is your priority, that you want to bully a member of Congress, instead of welcoming her to join this body so that we can all work together to get things done and deliver real results for the American people .’
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
