Incoming transgender Rep. Sarah McBride caves to Republicans’ wishes to not use women’s bathroom

Democratic Delaware Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a biological male, caved on Wednesday to House Republicans’ demands to avoid women’s bathrooms and facilities at the U.S. Capitol.

House Speaker…

Democratic Delaware Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a biological male, caved on Wednesday to House Republicans’ demands to avoid women’s bathrooms and facilities at the U.S. Capitol.

House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered Wednesday that “all single-sex facilities” in the Capitol and House office buildings are to be “reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” which corresponds with Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace’s resolution mandating for women’s spaces to be solely reserved for biological females. McBride, who is the first incoming elected representative to identify as transgender, said he will follow Johnson’s rules by only using the men’s bathroom and other single-sex facilities intended for men.

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

McBride accused Johnson and Mace of distracting from the “real issues” facing the U.S. and vowed to continue preparing to serve in the House of Representatives beginning in January. 

“This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January,” McBride continued. “Serving in the 119th Congress will be the honor of a lifetime — and I continue to look forward to getting to know my future colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Each of us were sent here because voters saw something in us that they value.”

Johnson further argued Wednesday that each member of Congress has their own personal bathroom and that unisex bathrooms are available throughout the Capitol building, while further noting that female staff “deserve women’s only spaces.”

Mace, who became a rape victim at the of age 16, stated Tuesday she still suffers from PTSD from the traumatic incident while pointing to the vulnerability of women and girls.

“I’m not going to stand for a man, you know, someone with a penis is in the women’s locker room. That’s not okay,” Mace told reporters.  “I’m a victim of abuse myself. I’m a rape survivor. I have PTSD from the abuse I’ve suffered at the hands of a man and I know how vulnerable women and girls are in private spaces.”

The bathroom issue garnered national attention in 2021 after a biological male wearing a skirt raped a female in a woman’s bathroom at a public school located in Loudoun County, Virginia. The school kept the incident a secret from the school community.