Three out LGBTQ+ Congress members have blasted “holier-than-thou” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA) for banning Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE), the sole transgender House member, from using bathrooms in the Capitol that match her gender identity. The queer Congress members also criticized Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) for introducing legislation that would ban trans people from using restrooms in any federal government buildings nationwide.
Despite initially promising to “accommodate the needs of every single person” and treat “all persons … with dignity and respect,” today Johnson announced that all single-sex restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms in the Capitol buildings are reserved for individuals whose “biological sex” matches them. His announcement threats from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Mace (R-SC) to beat up and intimidate McBride if she tried to access women’s spaces in the Capitol.
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“Speaker Johnson’s holier-than-thou decree to ban transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their identity is a cruel and unnecessary rule that puts countless staff, interns, and visitors to the United States Capitol at risk,” Pocan said in a statement issued Wednesday evening, adding, “Republicans can’t even pass a Farm Bill or pass major appropriations bills, so they turn to using these cruel attacks to distract from their inability to govern and failure to deliver for the American people.”
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“How will this even be enforced?” Pocan continued. “Will the Sergeant at Arms post officers in bathrooms? Will everyone who works at the Capitol have to carry around their birth certificate or undergo a genetic test? This policy isn’t going to protect anyone — but it is going to open the door to rampant abuse, harassment, and discrimination in the Capitol.”
Pocan’s comment came shortly after Mace introduced a bill seeking to ban trans people from using bathrooms matching their gender identity in federal buildings nationwide. On Wednesday, Mace also had a meltdown on Scripps News, misgendering McBride, discussing her genitals and claiming that McBride would “assault” her.
Pocan wasn’t the only LGBTQ+ member of Congress to criticize the Republicans for their grandstanding on the issue.
Out Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) criticized Mace’s bill on X, “Where is the part that lowers grocery costs? Drug prices? Or builds housing? Oh, right—it’s just about cruelty and feeding your need for attention.”
Where is the part that lowers grocery costs? Drug prices? Or builds housing? Oh, right—it’s just about cruelty and feeding your need for attention. https://t.co/E5eSWweVyp
Out gay Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) told MSNBC on Tuesday, “I am disgusted by those vile comments and these efforts. Why we are focusing on singling out one member—one new member, a freshman member of this body—now? Why we’re policing that person and where they use the restroom is shameful. We should push back on this disgusting rhetoric and actions.”
“Sarah McBride has the support of our entire caucus and clearly of the people of Delaware who sent her here to represent them,” Garcia continued. “We should allow her to legislate. Instead, this is the kind of vile behavior that we should expect from the new Republican majority. They’re not talking about lowering the cost of groceries; they’re not talking about making housing more affordable—they’re policing where someone uses the restroom.”
Natalie Johnson, Mace’s former communications director, pointed out that, in March 2021, Mace posted a comment on X (then-Twitter) declaring, “I strongly support LGBTQ rights. No one should be discriminated against. Religious liberty, gay rights, and transgender equality can all coexist.”
Johnson wrote, “If you think [Mace’s] bill is about protecting women and not simply a ploy to get on Fox News, you’ve been fooled,” and added, “I don’t want to see your botched, cheap hooker-inspired boob job on my television. Can we introduce a bill to bar that?”
In a statement issued Wednesday, McBride wrote, “I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them.”
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