AOC, Democrat Congress Members Condemn U.S. Capitol ‘Transgender Bathroom Ban’

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
4:50 PM – Thursday, November 21, 2024

Democrat members of Congress denounced House Republicans’ efforts to ban Congressional members from using restrooms on Capitol Hill that don’t correspond to their biological sex, arguing that Republicans are targeting Representative-elect Sarah McBride, a biological man who identifies as a trans woman.

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McBride, who will be sworn in this January as the first openly transgender person to serve in the House of Representatives, is currently the focus of two initiatives to restrict biological men from using women’s restrooms in the House.

GOP Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a resolution on Monday to limit access to all “single-sex facilities” on Capitol Hill, such as restrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas, to members of the “corresponding biological sex.”

“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, and his genitalia, his penis is in the room, no! Like I’m not– it’s not okay,” Mace said, also detailing how being sexual assaulted in the past has made her not feel comfortable with sharing vulnerable spaces, like restrooms, with those who have male genitalia.

Soon after, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) commented on the topic as well.

“He’s a man, a biological male,” Greene said, speaking about McBride. “So he is not allowed to use our women’s restrooms, our women’s gym, our locker rooms and our spaces that are specified for women.”

Mace further stated that the ban was “absolutely” directed at McBride, and that the House’s Sergeant-at-Arms would be the one to enforce the measure. Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also noted on Wednesday that “a man cannot become a woman,” and that he would implement a matching ban in the next Congressional rules package.

Since then, Mace and Johnson’s proposals have been denounced by at least three LGBTQ+ members of the House, including Representative Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus (CEC).

Pocan described Johnson’s policy as a “holier-than-thou decree” that is “cruel and unnecessary” in a news release issued by the CEC on Thursday.

“How will this even be enforced?… Will the Sergeant at Arms post officers in bathrooms? Will everyone who works at the Capitol have to carry around their birth certificate or undergo a genetic test? This policy isn’t going to protect anyone — but it is going to open the door to rampant abuse, harassment, and discrimination in the Capitol,” Pocan said.

Meanwhile, Representative Becca Balint (D-Vt.) parroted Pocan’s remarks, referring to Mace’s proposal as “a petty, hateful distraction.”

In an appearance on MSNBC, Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) similarly criticized Mace and Johnson, telling anchor Nicole Wallace that he was “disgusted” by Republicans’ “vile” comments.

“Why we’re policing that person and where they use the restroom is shameful. We should push back on this disgusting rhetoric and actions,” Garcia said. “They’re not talking about lowering the cost of groceries; they’re not talking about making housing more affordable — they’re policing where someone uses the restroom.”

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also chimed in to condemn the plans, claiming they were unsafe and discriminatory.

“What Nancy Mace and what Speaker Johnson are doing are endangering all women and girls, because […] what it inevitably results in are women and girls who are primed for assault,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters, “because people are going to want to check their private parts in suspecting who is trans and who assists and who’s doing what.”

“And so the idea that Nancy Mace wants little girls and women to drop trou in front of, who, an investigator?” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “Because she wants to suspect and point fingers at who she thinks is trans is disgusting. It is disgusting. And frankly, all it does is allow these Republicans to go around and bully any woman who isn’t wearing a skirt because they think she might not look woman enough.”

NBC News previously reported that, “There is no evidence that letting transgender people use public facilities that align with their gender identity increases safety risks, according to a new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.”

The Democrat “Squad” member then went on to claim that the idea of male sexual predators and perverts posing as transgender women is a false concept that is completely fabricated.

“Women know that men don’t scheme to ‘dress like girls’ to assault them. They do it every day in broad daylight. And the ones in power protect each other to keep it quiet. Just ask the House Ethics Committee. Or the President-elect of the United States. Leave women alone.”

Meanwhile, many trans activists have already began attacking Mace for her efforts, even sending death threats, with Mace herself posting a video on X that showed the sort of condemnation that she has been receiving as of late for wanting to keep biological men out of women’s spaces.

“They are threatening to kill me over this. Men that want to use women’s restrooms are threatening to kill me over this issue,” Mace told NewsNation’s “On Balance” on Tuesday.

“I want to see which of my male colleagues don’t support women up here. I dare them. Like, this is a place where I want your vote. I want it on record. I want to know where you stand. You protect us. Do we have rights as women or not?” Mace told host Leland Vittert.

“I can’t be threatened. You can’t threaten my life enough. That means I’m just gonna double and triple, quadruple down on this issue,” she continued.