Nancy Mace Bill Takes Aim at New Trans Rep

Sarah McBride made history earlier this month by becoming the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, but another House member isn't exactly giving her the warmest welcome. The Hill reports that on Monday, GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina introduced a bill that would bar transgender women from women's restrooms at the US Capitol, with William McFarland, the House sergeant-at-arms, tasked with enforcing the legislation. "Sarah McBride doesn't get a say," Mace told reporters on Monday, per CNN. "I mean, this is a biological man." Mace added that McBride "does not belong in women's spaces, women's bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, period, full stop."

The Delaware congresswoman-elect responded later Monday on X, writing, "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 added in a follow-up post: "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. Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible and that's what I'm focused on."

Mace is said to be in talks with House leadership over the legislation. When asked about the bill, House Speaker Mike Johnson told Axios, "We're going to talk about that. We're working on the issue." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries curtly said, "Haven't seen it." Other Democrats, however, were more blunt in their responses. "The cruelty is the point," Vermont Rep. Becca Balint said, while New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez noted, "This is not just bigotry, this is just plain bullying." (More Nancy Mace stories.)