Congress erupts over bill targeting new transgender member
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Rep. Nancy Mace at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 10, 2024. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) set off a firestorm on Capitol Hill with a bill to keep Sarah McBride, soon to be the first transgender member of Congress, from accessing the women's bathrooms at the Capitol.
Why it matters: The measure is not being immediately dismissed by Republican leadership, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) telling Axios, "We're going to talk about that. We're working on the issue."
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), asked about the bill, told Axios: "Haven't seen it."
- But other Democrats expressed fury at the effort: "The cruelty is the point," fumed Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), a co-chair of the Equality Caucus.
Driving the news: Mace's two-page resolution, first reported by Fox News, prohibits House members and staffers from "using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex."
- The measure covers bathrooms in the Capitol and House offices, charging the House sergeant-at-arms with enforcing the prohibition.
- Mace told reporters on Monday night: "Sarah McBride doesn't get a say in this. If you're a biological man, you shouldn't be in women's restrooms."
The other side: "This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing," McBride (D-Del.) said in a statement.
- "We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars," she added.
- Said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.): "This is not just bigotry, this is just plain bullying."
- "Is that what we want the sergeant-at-arms to be doing when we had an attack on the freaking Capitol?" exclaimed Balint.
Zoom in: Despite Jeffries' demurral, his top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), pushed back hard.
- "I think we have a lot of problems in America, I don't think spending time worrying about the restrooms is an order of priority here. I think Nancy Mace should focus on other things," Morelle said.
- He added of McBride: "She's a woman. She should use the ladies room."
Yes, but: Even some of Mace's moderate Republican colleagues expressed openness to her resolution.
- "I'll need more info," said one.
- Another told Axios: "I mean — a presidential election may have been decided on this issue."
What we're hearing: Mace had planned to force a vote on the measure this week but is instead in discussions with House GOP leadership about how to move forward, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.
- She is trying to get the bill included in the rules for the 119th Congress or have it voted on separately.
- Mace told reporters that if her bill fails to pass this year, she will "file this again next congressional session."
