House speaker bans trans women from using Capitol bathrooms after first openly trans lawmaker is elected

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday banned transgender people from using bathrooms not designated for their "biological sex," days after Republican Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a measure that would ban transgender women from using women's bathrooms and other facilities on Capitol Hill.

"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," Johnson 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," he said. "Women deserve women's only spaces."

The bathroom restriction comes as the U.S. House is set to swear in the first openly transgender member of Congress, Delaware Rep.-elect Sarah McBride.

What did Mace's proposed legislation say?

Mace’s two-page legislation proposes that House members, officers and employees are prohibited from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes.”

The South Carolina representative argues in the measure that allowing biological males into single-sex facilities “jeopardizes the safety and dignity of Members, officers, and employees of the House who are female.”

Mace — who said she received death threats over the legislation — said she wants to see her bill reflected in the House rules for the 119th Congress, which designates how the lower Congressional chamber operates for the next two years. The House rules will be voted on by the new Congress in January 2025.

Mixed reaction from lawmakers

When asked by a reporter on Monday whether she was going after a marginalized person, Mace called out the incoming representative from Delaware. “Sarah McBride doesn't get a say in this. This is a biological man trying to force himself into women's spaces, and I'm not going to tolerate,” Mace said.

Fellow GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters Monday that while she supports a resolution like the one Mace is proposing, she believes the ban should extend to “all taxpayer-funded facilities.”

Like Mace, Greene also misgendered McBride, saying, “He’s a man. He’s a biological man.”

Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, of Minnesota, called Mace’s proposal “pathetic” and asked her what she was “scared of.” Mace fired back: “I don’t want people with penis’s [sic] showing them off in our locker room.”

On Tuesday, Johnson was asked during a House GOP leadership press conference whether McBride is a man or a woman — but said, "I'm not going to get into this."

“We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people," Johnson replied. "I believe it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will. I’m not going to engage in silly debates about this.”

“This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before and we’re going to do that in deliberate fashion with member consensus on it and we will accommodate the needs of every single person,” Johnson continued.

McBride calls legislation a distraction

McBride responded to Mace’s proposed measure on Monday in a post on X, saying, “This is 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.”