Transgender people will not be allowed to use single-sex restrooms corresponding to their gender identity near the House, under a policy from Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., that was renewed Friday.
The ban was included in a list of Johnson’s policies for the 119th Congress, which were reflected in the Congressional Record, a daily account of congressional proceedings. The policy was not formally included in the House rules package adopted Friday during the House’s first session.
The policy states that “all single-sex facilities – such as restrooms, locker rooms and locker rooms – are reserved for persons of that biological sex,” according to the minutes of Friday’s proceedings.
The policy will be enforced by the Sergeant at Arms and will apply to “all areas of the Capitol subject to the general control of the President under Clause 3 of Rule I,” according to the Congressional Record. This includes the House lobby, hallways and passageways in the portion of the Capitol assigned to the House, as well as other rooms not appropriate in that portion of the Capitol, according to House rules.
“It is important to note that each member office has its own private restroom and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Friday’s Congressional Record said.
The policy was initially introduced as a proposed addition to the House rules by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in November, in direct response to the election of Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., who is the first openly representative of the country. trans member of Congress.
“I will absolutely 100 percent stand in the way of any man who wants to be in the women’s room, in our locker room, in our locker room,” Mace, who repeatedly misinterpreted McBride, told reporters at the time. “I’ll be here to fight you every step of the way.”
Shortly after, Johnson said he supported Mace’s efforts, saying, “Women deserve women-only spaces.” »
Mace told NBC News on Friday that she would reintroduce legislation to codify bathroom policy in Congress, although she said it has been House policy since Johnson’s comments in November.
In several statements, McBride described the measure as an attempt to distract from more important issues, but she said she would follow Johnson’s rules “even if I don’t agree with them.”
“I always knew that some members of the Republican caucus would seek to use my service as the representative of the largest state in the Union in Congress as an opportunity for them to distract from the fact that they have absolutely no no real political solution for the country. issues that are really plaguing this country,” McBride told the New Yorker. “I wasn’t surprised that there was an effort to politicize an issue that no one really cares about: which bathroom I use. I thought it could wait until January. It happened a little earlier than expected. I was still lost in the Capitol tunnels when we found out this was going to happen.
A spokesperson for McBride declined further comment regarding Johnson’s policies.
Republicans have increasingly turned to anti-trans rhetoric in recent years and particularly during elections. President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters spent nearly $60 million on eight anti-trans television ads, including one in Spanish, between September 19 and November 1, according to AdImpact, a company that tracks political ad spending.
However, Trump appeared to downplay trans issues in an interview with Time magazine last month, saying he agreed with McBride that lawmakers should focus on more important issues.
“I agree with that. On that point – absolutely,” he told Time. “I don’t want to bring up the toilet issue. Because we are talking about a very small number of people and our country is torn apart, so they will have to settle what will ultimately be decided by law.”
Syedah Asghar contributed.
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