The move followed two days of attacks on incoming Rep. Sarah McBride, who will be the first trans member of Congress. Such a broad policy is extreme even for this moment.
This column was originally published on Law Dork.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday issued a statement purporting to ban transgender women from women’s restrooms and transgender men from men’s restrooms throughout the Capitol and House office buildings.
The policy announcement from the Republican House leader was the latest move in a multi-day attack on Sarah McBride, a Democrat elected to represent Delaware in the House who will be the first out transgender member of Congress.
This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days.
Rep. Sarah McBride
The move also comes in the midst of attacks on transgender people more broadly—in legislation and campaigns, and elsewhere—and just weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court is due to hear a major case over the constitutionality of anti-trans laws banning gender-affirming medical care for minors.
Such a broad anti-trans bathroom policy, however, is extreme even for this moment. Only two states—Florida and Utah—have laws seeking to ban trans people from using restrooms that apply outside of the K-12 school context, as the Movement Advancement Project details.
It was not clear if the House policy was going into effect immediately or how it would be enforced—despite the fact there are transgender staffers and visitors in the Capitol complex daily.
The statement from Johnson followed Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introducing a resolution on Monday seeking such a rule targeted at McBride. Since then, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has joined Mace in attacking McBride in statements throughout the week.
Johnson’s policy statement also came on Transgender Day of Remembrance, a 25-year-old day dedicated to the memory of those killed due to anti-trans hate, and as the Justice Department recognized the 15-year-anniversary of the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Johnson’s statement—asserting that single-sex restrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms “are reserved for individuals of that biological sex”—would mean that a trans man would need to use the women’s room and vice versa, find a unisex restroom, or have access to the private restroom in a member’s office.
For her part, McBride wasn’t taking the speaker’s bait. In a statement, she said:
“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them.
“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.”
Will everyone who works at the Capitol have to carry around their birth certificate or undergo a genetic test?
Rep. Mark Pocan
A far-right religious lawyer who ascended to the speaker’s chair a little more than a year ago, the move is not altogether surprising from Johnson.
And yet, it was not clear what the policy would mean in practice. According to the architect of the Capitol, there is only one single-occupancy restroom in each of the House office buildings:
Immediately responding to the move, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, questioned several aspects of the policy.
“Speaker Johnson’s holier-than-thou decree to ban transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their identity is a cruel and unnecessary rule that puts countless staff, interns and visitors to the United States Capitol at risk,” he said—noting the broad application it could have to all people, not just McBride.
“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?” Pocan asked. “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 also said on X that he has requested a meeting about the ban:
In addition to all of those questions, it also was not clear how this would effect spaces in the Capitol used by both the House and Senate.
