House Democrats are on defense over a proposal to ban an incoming transgender lawmaker from using female bathrooms at the Capitol, calling the effort a distraction from real work people want to see done.
Democrats were quick to blast Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) for her bill that dropped Monday, which targeted Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE), the first transgender member of Congress. However, despite outraged posts on social media and calling the GOP proposals “bullying,” several Democratic members are saying that there are better things to do with their time than respond to a “petty” move.
Democrats’ messaging tactic was advised by McBride, with one Democratic lawmaker telling the Washington Examiner that the Delaware member-elect stressed to members that McBride viewed the measure as a “petty distraction and encouraged us to view it that way” as well.
“She is an experienced legislator who is focused on the work,” the lawmaker told the Washington Examiner. “The work is her top priority.”
Meanwhile, Mace and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have been vocal in their opposition to McBride, referring to the Delaware lawmaker as a man or using McBride’s former name, known as deadnaming.
It is not yet clear how the resolution would be moved forward through the House. Mace is pushing Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to include it in the House rules legislation next year, which lawmakers will vote on shortly after being sworn into the 119th Congress on Jan. 3, 2025.
If it is not included in the rules legislation, Mace has threatened to file the bill as a privileged resolution, which would force a vote on the measure within two legislative days.
“I just think it’s unfortunate that that’s the path these guys want to go down,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) said. “But anyway, I’m not going to react to every single crazy thing these people do, but it’s just disappointing.”
When asked if Democrats should respond to defend a member of their caucus, McGovern took a more defensive approach.
“What are you asking me? This is bigotry,” McGovern said. “I mean, that’s what this is. And I personally find it offensive, but [Republicans are] in control of the chamber. I assume they have the votes for their rules package, but this is what they choose to focus on and not on improving the quality of life for anybody.”
Mace has said she is not advocating the construction of a gender-neutral bathroom near the House floor that McBride could use.
The Democrat could use the male bathroom or the private one the members have in their congressional offices, Mace said, noting that the House Sergeant at Arms, the chamber’s chief law enforcement officer, would be in charge of enforcing the ban.
It is unclear how the bathroom ban would be enforced should it be adopted in the rules.
But in the past, the House speaker has turned to fining members, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) setting up $5,000 fines for first offenses and $10,000 for second offenses for members who refused to walk through metal detectors after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) were part of a letter sent to the House Administration Committee in 2022 that called for gender-neutral bathrooms in the Capitol.
But in the present day, Jeffries has not yet called for gender-neutral bathrooms. During a press conference, when asked if there should be accommodations for transgender members of Congress, Jeffries bashed Republicans on their prioritizing this issue.
“This incoming, small House Republican Conference majority is beginning the transition to the new Congress by bullying a member of Congress,” Jeffries said. “This is what we’re doing? This is the lesson that you’ve drawn from the election in November? This is your priority, that you want to bully a member of Congress, as opposed to welcoming her to join this body?”
Meanwhile, Clark said Tuesday that “we’re not off to a great start” with the GOP majority, arguing that the first question Republicans ask does not center on border security or preserving the economy, but about “where one member out of 435 … where she is going to use the bathroom?”
“The American people say, ‘Mind your own business about where people do their business,’” Clark said.
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), the newest member of Democratic leadership, expressed his disappointment with Mace’s proposal and questioned its necessity.
“I just don’t understand why bathrooms are top of mind for [Mace],” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) said. “But she wants to think about where a future member is gonna piss and s***, like, I don’t — I don’t understand.”
Both Mace and Greene have said that the transgender bathroom ban bill is “just the start” of ensuring that “no men are in women’s private spaces.” The two have alluded to plans to expand those restrictions to all federal buildings and public schools that receive federal funding.
Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) said Democrats need to be “clear-eyed” about showing up in this moment, arguing that they should not be “constantly responding to every little stupid, petty thing they do.” However, she said the party can respond by highlighting the lack of policy being pushed by members such as Mace and Greene.
“It’s going to be constant,” Balint said, acknowledging that she thinks Mace’s bill opens the door to more “cruelty.”
“They’re going to keep doing it … they’re spending their precious time dehumanizing people, and monitoring bathrooms, and not actually passing any legislation to help the people of this country,” the congresswoman added.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), one of a handful of openly gay members of Congress, called the bill “disgusting” and said he was “sick to his stomach.” He said the caucus supports McBride “100%” and that people should focus on what the new member-elect has accomplished.
Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), another openly gay member of Congress, said he is waiting to see whether the bill makes its way to the House floor. When asked if Democrats should respond to the bill and subsequent attacks, Pappas said there is a stark difference between serious and unserious lawmakers.
“I think Nancy Mace is — she’s not serious about the challenges that we face as a country,” Pappas told the Washington Examiner.
Rank-and-file Republicans are staying relatively silent on the matter, though Greene confirmed on Monday that Johnson pledged to prohibit women from using female facilities. The Georgia congresswoman said Tuesday that McBride “should not be using any of our restrooms in the Capitol.”
Other Republicans have said they still need to read the resolution, while one GOP lawmaker told the Washington Examiner he would understand “why some women would feel uncomfortable with a biological male in their private spaces.”
Another GOP lawmaker told the Washington Examiner that much of the presidential election focused on transgender issues, arguing it likely will not go away soon. Instead, the lawmaker argued it might be “time for a few nongender bathrooms.”
Johnson flip-flopped on his stance on the issue in a matter of hours. He initially said during a press conference Tuesday morning that he was “not going to get into this” before saying that he believes it is a “command we treat all persons with dignity and respect. We will.”
Later that day, he clarified his position.
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“Let me be unequivocally clear: A man is a man and a woman is a woman, and a man cannot become a woman,” Johnson told reporters. “That said, I also believe that’s what Scripture teaches, what I just said, but I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity.
“I believe all those things at the same time,” the speaker continued.