House Speaker Mike Johnson quietly implemented the bathroom ban targeting transgender Rep. Sarah McBride, Democrat of Delaware, following his swearing in to the 119th Congress.
To the delight of transphobic GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, the policy mandates that single-sex facilities—including restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms—be used solely based on a person’s sex assigned at birth.
“The Chair announces to the House a new policy that will be implemented in the 119th Congress pursuant to clause 3 of rule I,” the Congressional Record states. “In all areas of the Capitol subject to the Speaker’s general control under clause 3 of rule I, all single-sex facilities—such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms—are reserved for individuals of that biological sex. This policy will be enforced by the Sergeant-at-Arms. It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”
The rule was first established by Johnson in November after Mace threw a fit over the news that McBride was elected.
Following Johnson’s reelection as speaker earlier this month, Mace’s bathroom ban made headlines again when it noticeably wasn’t included in the House Rules Package.
Instead, Johnson managed to sneak through the rule as part of the unilateral authority given to him under the House rules. It’s not precisely clear why Johnson would choose to go this route, and his team did not respond to Daily Kos’ request for comment.
However, one congressional staffer familiar with the matter speculated that Johnson might have done so as to not pit Congress members directly against each other.
“This was a political move so that people didn’t have to vote on the basis of banning staff and their fellow members of Congress,” they told Daily Kos.
Recently on X, Mace has referred to McBride as a “perv,” misgendered her, and argued that “protecting women isn’t transphobic.”
And while Mace is expected to continue berating her fellow Congresswoman’s existence on McBride’s home turf Friday, McBride will be busy actually doing her job.
Speaking to Axios, McBride’s spokesperson Michaela Kurinsky-Malos said, “This weekend Congresswoman McBride will attend a bipartisan meeting with her colleagues from the House to discuss solutions to the most pressing issues facing her constituents.”
McBride has only made one statement on X regarding the ban and Mace’s transphobic attacks.
“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. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars,” she wrote.
The targeted bathroom ban comes at a time when rights for transgender people have taken an international debate stage.
Last month, the UK banned the use of puberty blockers for minors in a historical move setting the tone for medical access for transgender youth. Just days before, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case challenging a similar law in Tennessee that bans access to gender-affirming medical care for minors.
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