CNN
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Two weeks after history was made when America’s first transgender person was elected to Congress, House Republicans are calling for transgender women to be banned from women’s restrooms at the Capitol.
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution Monday to amend the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, less than two months before Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride of Delaware is sworn in in January. did.
“Sarah McBride doesn’t have a voice. I mean, this is a biological male,” the South Carolina Republican told reporters on Monday. It is not appropriate for rooms, changing rooms, menstrual periods, or endpoints, etc.,” he added.
“Every day, Americans go to work with people who are on different journeys in life than we are, and we treat them with respect,” McBride told X late Monday. “I hope you will,” he apparently replied.
The congressman-elect continued in another post, saying, “This is a blatant attempt by far-right extremists to distract from the fact that there are no real solutions to the realities facing the American people.” Ta.
“We should be focusing on lowering the costs of housing, health care and child care, not manufacturing culture wars,” she continued. “The people of Delaware sent me here to make the American Dream more affordable and accessible, and that’s what I’m focused on.”
Asked by reporters that evening if he would go after a marginalized person, Mace said: “This is a biological male trying to force his way into a woman’s space, and I’m not going to condone that.” No,” he told CNN.
She continued, “I was the first woman to graduate from The Citadel Military College in South Carolina. If a guy in a skirt came up to me and said, ‘No, that’s credit to me.’ I’m going to be there to interrupt and say, “No way.” I am not going to allow men to erase women and their rights. ”
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that he is working to “provide accommodations for all members.” He declined to acknowledge the details of the Republicans’ plan, saying, “This is an issue that Congress has never dealt with before.”
Mace, the first woman to graduate from The Citadel’s Corps of Cadet, will become a Republican after the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in 2022 and the party’s efforts to retain female voters. I have often stated that I am looking for a way to demonstrate this. It’s “female-friendly”.
McBride is banking on the historic nature of his campaign while running in a reliably blue state to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who is running for the U.S. Senate. There wasn’t. She highlighted her efforts leading a bipartisan push to pass paid family and medical leave in the state and touted support from labor unions and efforts to increase the state’s minimum wage. . But on the trail, she alluded to a broader theme of respect, specifically that everyone deserves a legislator who respects them and their families.
Sarah McBride becomes first transgender elected to Congress
Similar bans targeting bathroom use related to transgender gender identity, particularly in schools, have been controversial in recent years, with supporters arguing they protect students and critics criticizing them. They argue that it is humane and unnecessary.
In 2023, which the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, calls “the biggest year for bathrooms,” Republican-led legislatures in several states will require transgender students to change their gender identity. passed a bill banning the use of changing rooms and restrooms related to invoice. ” The Ohio Senate greenlit its own bill last week, and it now awaits the state’s Republican governor’s signature.
This story has been updated with additional responses.
CNN’s Arit John, Jack Forrest and Karina Tsui contributed to this report.
