House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) issued a policy banning transgender individuals from using single-sex bathrooms and locker rooms inside the Capitol building, following through with proposals suggested by GOP lawmakers earlier this week.
“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 in a Wednesday statement. “It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”
The policy comes after Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a resolution earlier this week targeting Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE), the first transgender member of Congress, from using bathrooms designated for female lawmakers and staffers in the Capitol building.
The policy applies to bathrooms in the Capitol and House office buildings and will be enforced by the House sergeant-at-arms. Johnson maintained that the policy would be enforced, but it’s unknown how.
“Like all policies, it is enforceable,” Johnson told reporters. “It’s always been an unwritten policy, but now it’s in writing.”
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, McBride agreed to comply with Johnson’s policy, even if the freshman Democrat disagrees with the decision.
“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms,” McBride said. “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.”
Mace responded to McBride’s statement, saying that the representative-elect’s “promise to abide by Speaker Johnson’s policy is a step toward acknowledging the rights of women everywhere—something we’ll continue to demand without compromise.”
It remains unclear what punishments could ensue if someone is found in violation of the policy. However, in the past, leadership has resorted to fining members, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) setting up $5,000 fines for first offenses and $10,000 for second offenses for members who refused to walk through metal detectors after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Johnson has shifted his position on the matter in the last few days. On Tuesday, he initially told reporters he was “not going to get into this.” He later walked that back to say, “A man is a man and a woman is a woman,” before maintaining that “a man cannot become a woman.”
“That said, I also believe that’s what Scripture teaches, what I just said, but I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity,” Johnson said. “And I believe all those things at the same time, and I wanted to make that clear for everybody because there’s lots of questions, but that’s where I stand.”
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Mace introduced a bill Wednesday that would prohibit transgender women from using any “private, protected facilities” such as bathrooms or locker rooms on all federal property. The legislation comes after Mace vowed to expand on her initial resolution, suggesting she may later introduce legislation that would extend similar restrictions to public schools that receive federal funding.
“Women and girls shouldn’t have to give up their safety or privacy just because the Left wants to win points with their activist base,” Mace said. “This isn’t controversial — it’s common sense. I’m going to continue defending women and girls from these harmful, out-of-touch, and straight-up weird policies.”
