Trans trailblazer Sarah McBride to be sworn into US congress today

Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride is set to be sworn in today (3 January) becoming the first-ever out trans member of congress.

The 34-year-old is set to make history on Friday (3 January) becoming the first ever trans person to take the oath in Washington and be sworn into the US House of Representatives.

McBride, who first began her political career in 2019 after joining the Delawarean state Senate, made it to the US Congress following her win in the US election in November.

She marked the momentous occasion with an Instagram post on Thursday, saying she was on her way to Washington with her family and was prepared to become the newest member of Congress.

“Alongside my family, I hopped aboard the Amtrak from Wilmington to Washington to fight for all working families,” she wrote. “Because of your votes, I’m ready to become your new Member of Congress tomorrow.”

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A post shared by Sarah McBride (@sarahemcbride)

Sarah McBride will take the oath alongside fellow Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester, who will become the first Black woman to represent Delaware in the US Senate.

McBride’s road to becoming the highest-ranking trans political figure in the US has been hard-fought, even after bagging her seat in the election.

In the lead-up to her official ceremony to be sworn in as the first trans senator, McBride’s political efforts have been met with Republican attacks – most notably over her right to use women’s facilities in the US Capitol.

Congresswoman Nancy Mace introduced a resolution on 18 November to prohibit lawmakers, specifically McBride, from using “single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.”

Asked whether the resolution was targeted towards McBride, Mace said it “absolutely” was “and then some,” whilst routinely misgendering McBride.

Responding to the attacks, McBride said the efforts by Republicans to mitigate her rights were an “attempt to distract” from their failings.

“Every single time we hear them say the word ‘trans’, look what they’re doing with their right hand,” she said in November. “Look at what they’re doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatising social security and Medicare.”

The Democrat conceded the fight against the resolution moments before its passage, saying she was “not here to fight bathrooms” and instead wished to focus on her constituents.

“I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families,” she said. “Like all members, I will follow the rules 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 [past] several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January.”