In the wake of the first transgender representative being elected to Congress earlier this month, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a resolution to protect women’s bathrooms and locker rooms on Capitol Hill.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) heeded the recommendation on Wednesday and announced that single-sex facilities in Capitol and House office buildings are “reserved for individuals of that biological sex.” Gender neutral bathrooms will also continue to be available.
[Editor’s Note: You can learn more about Megyn’s position on preferred pronouns here.]
Mace’s Resolution
Mace unveiled a resolution on Monday to ban trans women from using female-only spaces inside the Capitol. “Biological men do not belong in private women’s spaces. Period. Full stop. End of story,” she wrote on X while sharing her proposal.
The resolution was aimed at “prohibiting members, officers, and employees of the House from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes.”
It stated that “allowing biological males into single-sex facilities, such as restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms designed for women, jeopardizes the safety and dignity of Members, officers, and employees of the House who are female.” Enforcement would be the responsibility of the House sergeant-at-arms.
The resolution was a response to the election of Democrat Sarah McBride. McBride is the first openly transgender person elected to Congress and will hold Delaware’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The 34-year-old, who has served as a state senator in Delaware since November 2020, was born male and came out as a transgender woman at the age of 21. McBride was a senior at American University at the time. Prior to running for office, McBride served as the national spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ rights group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and penned a 2018 memoir with a foreword by President Joe Biden.
McBride joined many Democrats and trans activists in condemning Mace’s resolution. “Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness,” McBride tweeted on Monday. “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.”
The New Policy
Johnson was first asked about Mace’s proposal during a press conference on Tuesday when a reporter asked him if McBride “is a man or a woman.” Initially, he did not give a straight answer:
JOHNSON: Look, I’m not going to get into this. We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people. I believe it’s a, it’s a command we treat all persons with dignity and respect. We will, and I’m not going to engage in silly debates about this. There’s a concern about the uses of restoring facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before. We’re going to do that in a deliberate fashion with member consensus on it, and we will accommodate the needs of every single person.
Later that day, he offered a clearer take:
JOHNSON: I was asked a question this morning at the leadership gaggle and I rejected the premise because the answer is, is so obvious. For anybody who doesn’t know my well-established record on this issue, let me be unequivocally clear: A man is a man, and a woman is a woman. And a man cannot become a woman… That’s what scripture teaches… But I also believe we treat everybody with dignity.
On Wednesday, Johnson declared “women deserve women’s only spaces” and announced the new policy for the Capitol building and other congressional offices. “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,” he said in a statement. “It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”
In the wake of Johnson’s announcement, Representative-elect McBride posted on X: “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families.” Mace, meanwhile, thanked Johnson for his swift action, but said the “fight isn’t over just yet.” She is now moving “to ban men from women’s spaces in EVERY federal building, school, public bathroom, everywhere.”
Megyn Reacts
In Megyn’s view, there was but one solution to this problem. “This person – if he doesn’t want to use the men’s room – should use a gender neutral bathroom,” she said. “And if there isn’t a gender neutral bathroom, well, they should get one built before this person arrives. It is only November 20. They have plenty of time and plenty of taxpayer dollars to build a bathroom.”
McBride may be the first trans person elected to Congress, but Megyn said the rules should have already been in place. “It is ridiculous that people like Nancy Mace and others have to fight for this. This should have been handled long ago before this person even got to Congress,” she explained. “I realize we weren’t thinking about it, but you should have been… And now it looks more provocative because you are doing it in response to one person who declares themselves a ‘trans woman’ arriving.”
Ultimately, Megyn said this is about safeguarding women’s spaces. “This person… apparently would like to use the women’s bathroom. I’m sorry, the answer there is no because the women’s bathroom is for women and you are not one,” she concluded. “Declaring yourself a ‘trans woman’ – which means ‘fake woman’ – doesn’t change that.”
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 949 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.