By Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday that all single-sex facilities in the U.S. Capitol building would be reserved for “individuals of that biological sex,” weeks after the election of the first transgender member of Congress.
The issue became a flashpoint after Republican Representative Nancy Mace filed a resolution to impose that requirement, which targeted U.S. Representative-elect Sarah McBride.
“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Johnson said in a statement.
Many House offices are a 10-minute walk from the House floor where voting and debate take place.
Democrats immediately decried the effort on Tuesday. Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries called the bill “bullying,” and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described it as “mean and cruel.”
McBride, 34, said it was a blatant attempt by Republicans “to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.”
McBride focused her successful election campaign on economic issues, including protections for unions and affordable healthcare and childcare.
Transgender rights have become a political rallying cry for right-wing politicians in the U.S. seeking to roll back protections for LGBTQ people.
Lawmakers in 37 states introduced at least 142 bills to restrict gender-affirming healthcare for transgender and gender-expansive people in 2023, Reuters reported, nearly three times as many as the previous year.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton, additional reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)
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