Sarah McBride says she lives ‘rent-free’ in Republicans’ heads, calls them ‘weird’ and ‘bizarre’

Trans lawmaker Sarah McBride has said she lives “rent free” in the minds of Republicans as she called out their obsession with culture war issues.

At a press conference on Thursday (13 March) McBride, who is the first out trans congresswoman, criticised the way in which GOP lawmakers continue to focus on her identity and not her politics.

Her comments come two days after a House of Representatives committee hearing was halted when Democrat congressman Bill Keating confronted Republican Keith Self for misgendering McBride.

Calling on McBride to speak at the meeting, Texas representative Self said he recognised the “gentleman from Delaware” and referred to her as “Mr McBride”. She responded in kind, saying: “Thank you, Madame chair.”

Keating refused to let Self’s misgendering of McBride slide, calling him out angrily: “Mr Chairman, you are out of order. Mr Chairman, have you no decency? I mean, I’ve come to know you a little bit, but this is not decent.”

Speaking to the press, McBride said Democrats “will not take a lecture on decorum from a party that incited an insurrection,” making reference to 6 January, 2021 when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building.

She said: “I appear to live rent-free in the minds of some of my Republican colleagues. I wish that they would spend even a fraction of the time that they spend thinking about me thinking about how to lower the costs for American families.”

“I wish they would spend a fraction of the time that they spend thinking about me figuring out how to make government actually work better rather than making it work worse in order to prove that government can’t work.”

McBride went on to call out GOP politicians priorities, saying: “They are obsessed with culture war issues. The Republican party is obsessed with culture war issues.

“It is weird and it is bizarre and the American people deserve serious legislators [and] serious elected officials who are focused on bringing people together to deliver real results for the American people.

“Not to play games and not to engage in schoolyard taunts.”

Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, his administration has made quick work of its anti-trans campaign promises and has focused significant time and effort on removing the rights and dignities of trans Americans, who make up less than one per cent of the population.

Signing a raft of executive orders, Trump proclaimed the official policy of the US is that there are “only two sexes”, banned transgender people from serving in the military and restricted gender-affirming healthcare for trans youngsters under the age 19.

He has also moved to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programmes across the government and in the military.

Ironically though, during a meeting with Micheál Martin, the taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, Trump said: “Everything is transgender. Everybody transgender. That is all you hear about and that is why we won the election in record numbers.”

The president went on to claim the existence of transgender people is “demeaning” to women, he added, before calling on Democrats to “get with” Republican lawmakers to “come up with good tax policy”.

Back in November, following McBride’s election, South Carolina representative Nancy Mace said that a resolution she brought forward to ban trans women from using female toilets and spaces in the Capitol building was “absolutely” targeted at McBride.