Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sidestepped any specifics Tuesday when asked about Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), who will be the first transgender member of the House, amid an effort by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to ban transgender women from single-sex facilities such as women’s restrooms in the Capitol.
“We welcome all members with open arms who are newly elected representatives of the people. I believe it’s a — it’s a command. We treat all persons with dignity and respect,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday when asked about McBride.
“And I’m not going to engage in silly debates about this,” Johnson continued. “There’s a concern about the uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before. We’re going to do that in a deliberate fashion with members’ consensus on it, and we will accommodate the needs of every single person.”
The answer came in response to a question about whether Johnson thought McBride was a man or a woman. Hours later, Johnson addressed the news media again to offer a more definitive answer to that question.
“For anyone who doesn’t know my established record on this issue, let me be unequivocally clear: a man is a man, and a woman is a woman, and a man cannot become a woman,” Johnson said. “That said, I also believe that’s what scripture teaches, what I just said, but I also believe we treat everybody with dignity. We can do and believe all those things at the same time.”
Mace introduced a bill to ban transgender women from single-sex facilities that match their gender identity Monday, and is in talks with leadership about how to bring the measure to the floor, a source familiar with the matter previously told The Hill.
While she initially planned to force a vote on the measure, Mace is now hoping to see her bill reflected in the House rules package for the 119th Congress, which governs how the chamber will function for the next two years. It is one of the first votes taken by the new Congress in January.
“I want to see this in the House rules package. I want to make sure that no men are in women’s private spaces,” Mace said.
Johnson declined to say whether the measure would be in the rules package.
“I’m not going to engage in this. We don’t look down upon anyone. We treat everybody with dignity,” Johnson said. “We’ll provide appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress.”
McBride called Mace’s move “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,” McBride said in a statement Monday. “Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible and that’s what I’m focused on.”
Updated at 3:12 p.m.
