(CNN) — On one side of the Capitol, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace vowed to “stand in the way” of Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, the first out transgender woman elected to Congress, using women’s bathrooms in the US Capitol.
Across the building, McBride was privately counseling her Democratic colleagues how to balance both pushing back on dehumanizing rhetoric while also staying on message. McBride, who came up through the Delaware legislature, assured Democrats that she has faced similar attacks before and was not going to let this define her.
“This is not her first rodeo,” Democratic Rep. Becca Balint said of McBride. “I’m so impressed by the way Rep. McBride is really helping us navigate this. Because she said, ‘If we let them, this entire Congress, all we’ll talk about is bathrooms.’”
Transgender rights, and how politicians talk about them, became a divisive issue that President-elect Donald Trump emphasized at the close of the presidential campaign, and Republican lawmakers are picking up the baton to carry the culture war forward on Capitol Hill. The GOP effort has also resurfaced frustrations among Democrats who believe the party failed to forcefully respond to the anti-transgender attacks from Republicans during the campaign.
Mace, of South Carolina, introduced a resolution Monday to amend the rules of the US House of Representatives to ban transgender women from women’s restrooms at the Capitol and filed broader legislation that would apply to every federal building and federally funded school. GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia took the rhetoric further, threatening violence against McBride if she entered a women’s bathroom and calling the congresswoman-elect “mentally ill.”
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he is banning transgender women from using the women’s restrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms in the Capitol but did not outline a plan to enforce it.
“All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” the speaker said in a statement. “It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”
When pressed on how these policies could be enforced, Johnson told reporters, “Like all House policies, it’s enforceable. We have single-sex facilities for a reason. Women deserve women-only spaces. We’re not anti-anyone.”
Johnson outlined the tension for him around the issue on Tuesday.
“A man is a man, and a woman is a woman, and a man cannot become a woman,” the Louisiana Republican told reporters.
But Johnson, a devout Christian, added: “But I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity. And so … we can do and believe all those things at the same time. And I wanted to make that clear for everybody because there’s lots of questions. But that’s where I stand.”
Mace told CNN the speaker has assured her it will be included in the House rules package.
Johnson is weighing various factors as he tries to resolve the issue. The speaker could instruct the Committee on House Administration to have signage put up on bathrooms or issue a campus-wide directive. Other lawmakers say Johnson is working on making a special accommodation for McBride.
But Republicans discussing the issue privately say that any steps Johnson takes would be difficult to enforce. Although Mace’s resolution is in response to McBride coming to Congress, there are many transgender people who work and visit the Capitol.
“Those of us who want to be reasonable about things are having trouble with how you legislate this,” one GOP lawmaker told CNN.
As Mace puts the issue front and center, there are some in the GOP conference who don’t want bathroom use to even be a topic of conversation, including the party’s incoming conference chair.
“I agree with [Mace], but I got to be honest with you: We got so much work to do,” GOP Rep. Lisa McClain told CNN. “Can we focus on policy?”
And others want to refrain from weighing in and instead are leaving the issue strictly in Johnson’s hands.
“I think the speaker will figure that situation out,” Rep. Richard Hudson, who leads the House GOP campaign arm, told CNN.
Democrats tear into Republicans while some say party has work to do
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic leadership tore into House Republicans on Tuesday for focusing on anti-transgender sentiment and culture wars by targeting McBride instead of prioritizing legislative priorities.
“The notion that this incoming small House Republican Conference majority is beginning to transition to the new Congress by bullying a member of Congress, this is what we’re doing? This is the lesson that you’ve drawn from the election in November?” Jeffries said.
But Democrats also acknowledge the party has work to do to establish its position on culture war issues that Republicans have used to turn out their base.
Many are still stunned that during the presidential campaign, Kamala Harris never responded to Trump ads targeting the vice president over her past support of taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for detained immigrants and federal prisoners. The ads flooded the airwaves across key battleground states and demographics in the closing days of the race.
“It was a perfect culture war ad to lay the trans stuff on top of support for felons. I don’t understand anymore than you why the presidential campaign didn’t respond to that,” one Democratic lawmaker told CNN.
Although House Democrats agree that transgender people need to be treated with dignity and want to call out Republicans for dehumanizing rhetoric, there is disagreement in the caucus over how to address the issue of transgender athletes. Some Democratic lawmakers acknowledged their party has left a vacuum that could be detrimental if it continues to be filled only by Republicans.
Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, who has faced backlash for his position against transgender athletes participating in sports, told CNN that Democrats need to recalibrate on the issue.
“I don’t think the issue is that we’re not listening to ourselves. The issue is that we’re not listening to fellow Americans,” he said.
Democratic lawmakers are appealing to their leadership to get more involved and are calling on members who are part of the LGBTQ+ community to help lead the way in crafting an effective response. It will all be part of the listening sessions that House Democratic leadership has instituted as the party processes their election losses.
“This is something we are wrestling with as a nation, and we have to talk about it as a family,” another Democratic lawmaker told CNN.
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