Speaker Johnson announces policy barring trans women from Capitol bathrooms

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5000006-speaker-johnson-transgender-
bathroom-policy/

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced Wednesday that transgender women 
are not permitted to use bathrooms in the Capitol that match their gender 
identity, taking a stance on the hot-button issue that has overtaken the 
Capitol in recent days.

The policy — which Johnson announced in a public statement, a draft of 
which was first reported by The Hill — will also apply to bathrooms in 
House office buildings, changing rooms and locker rooms. It is unclear 
when he plans to publish the comments.

Under House rules, the Speaker has “general control” of facilities in the 
chamber, giving Johnson the authority to issue the policy surrounding 
bathrooms.

“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. “It is important to 
note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex 
restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”

“Women deserve women’s only spaces,” he added.

Johnson’s statement — which was made on Transgender Day of Remembrance, 
recognized annually to memorialize trans people who died due to anti-trans 
violence — comes days after Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a bill to 
bar transgender women from facilities on Capitol Hill that match their 
gender identity, a response to the election earlier this month of Rep.-
elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.).

McBride will be the first openly transgender person in Congress.

In a statement following the policy announcement Wednesday, McBride said 
she disagreed with the new rule but would abide by it.

“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms, I’m here to fight for Delawareans 
and to bring down costs facing families,” McBride said. “Like all members, 
I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree 
with them.”

The Speaker had previously sidestepped specifics regarding facilities when 
asked about McBride earlier this week, refusing to say whether he would 
put Mace’s bill in the House rules package for the 119th Congress.

“I’m not going to address the plans on any of that — I just told you what 
I’m going to say about the issue. I’m not going to engage in this,” 
Johnson said at a press conference. “We don’t look down upon anyone. We 
treat everybody with dignity and respect. That’s a principle that I’ve 
pursued my whole life, and we will take care of this issue of first 
impression for Congress. as we will any other thing. We’ll provide 
appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress.”

In a statement hours later, the Speaker told reporters, “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.”

“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,” he added.

McBride blasted Mace’s legislation earlier this week, calling it “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. 
“Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and 
accessible and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Mace was threatening to force a vote on the matter prior to Johnson’s 
decision to formally announce the new policy; the congresswoman wanted the 
terms to be included in the rules package for the 119th Congress and said 
she would force a vote on the bill if that did not come to fruition.

The Congresswoman has been strongly pushing for the change in policy this 
week, citing different scenarios that could play out on Capitol Hill.

“This is a real thing,” Mace told NewsNation’s Leland Vittert in an 
interview Tuesday night. “This isn’t manufactured. This person wants to 
come in and use women’s spaces. If I’m in as a woman, I’m changing clothes 
in the locker room, because I use the gym. When I’m up here in DC, the 
women’s gym, and a man shows up in his genitalia. His penis is in the 
room. No, like, I’m not. It’s not okay.”


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and 
eradicated.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem.  It has none.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden 
fiasco, President Trump.  

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.