Trans congresswoman Sarah McBride reacts to Republicans’ proposed bathroom ban at US Capitol
In January Sarah McBride will become the first trans person in US congress. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Sarah McBride, the first transgender congresswoman, has condemned a proposed trans toilet ban at the US Capitol in Washington DC.
McBride, who also made history in 2020 as the first trans woman to be elected to a state senate, defeated Republican John Whalen in the elections on 5 November, to win Delaware’s at-large seat in the US house of representatives, and has now taken aim at South Carolina Republican representative Nancy Mace’s proposed anti-trans measure.
The proposal, if passed, would mean house members, officers and employees would not be able to use facilities designated for the opposite biological sex.
‘Blatant attempt to distract’
”The sanctity of protecting women and standing up against the left’s systematic erasure of biological women starts here in the nation’s Capitol,” Mace wrote.
But on Monday (18 November), McBride hit back, saying: “This is a blatant attempt from right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care and child care, not manufacturing culture wars.”
McBride, who will become the first trans member of congress when she takes office in January, added: “Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible and that’s what I’m focused on.”
This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars.
— Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) November 19, 2024
Delawareans…
Her words echo what she said, after her victory at the polls, about Donald Trump’s anti-trans ads, which reportedly cost Republicans almost $215 million (£169 million).
“Those ads were part of a long-term strategy by the far-right-wing in this country, which is to pick [on] a small and vulnerable misunderstood community to fear-monger and scapegoat around, in order to distract and divide from the fact that those politicians have absolutely no policy solutions for the issues that are actually keeping people up at night.”
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