U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Speaking with reporters after a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Nov. 19, far-right U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) “committed to me, there in the conference, that Sarah McBride will not be using our restrooms.”
On Nov. 18, less than two weeks after the Delaware state senator was elected to become the first transgender member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) proposed a resolution to prohibit House members and staffers from “using single-sex facilities” in the U.S. Capitol and House office buildings “other than those corresponding to their biological sex.”
In an exchange with Capitol Hill reporters and on social media, Mace confirmed that the policy was deliberately meant to target McBride.
Responding to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Johnson shared an exchange between the speaker and reporters at the weekly GOP stakeout press conference:
Pablo Manriquez: Do you think Sarah McBride is a man or a woman?
Johnson: Look, I’m not going to get into this. We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people. I believe it’s a it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will, and I’m not going to engage in in in silly debates about this. There’s a concern about the uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before, and we’re going to do that in deliberate fashion with member consensus on it, and we will accommodate the needs of every single person. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
Ryan Schmelz (FOX): Do you plan on bringing Nancy Mace’s transgender bill and putting that into the rules package?
Johnson: We’re not, going to address the plans on any of that. I just told you what I’m going to say about the issue. I’m not going to engage in this. We don’t look down upon anyone. We treat everybody with dignity and respect. That’s a principle that I pursued my whole life. And we will take care of this, you know, issue of first impression for Congress, as we will any other thing. We’ll provide appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress.
The Republican leader told Axios on Monday that “We’re going to talk about” Mace’s proposal. “We’re working on the issue.”
After she introduced the resolution on Monday, congressional Democrats and LGBTQ groups were quick to denounce the effort as a bigoted and unprovoked attack against a freshman colleague.
Human Rights Campaign spokesperson Delphine Luneau shared a statement with the Washington Blade on Tuesday:
“Speaker Mike Johnson claims that he’ll treat all lawmakers with ‘dignity and respect,’ but actions speak louder than words. The voters of Delaware sent Sarah McBride to represent them in Congress, and the House has an obligation and duty to treat her with humanity and decency. The proposed House rule that targets her and other trans officers and staff members must be rejected, and the nation’s lawmakers need to focus on doing their jobs to deliver results for the voters they represent.”
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