GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom ban

'The radical left says I'm a threat,' Mace said on X after introducing her bill. 'You better believe it.'

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)

published 21 November 2024

What happened

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) Wednesday introduced a bill to block transgender people from using restrooms and changing rooms that do not match their birth-assigned sex at all federal buildings and national parks. On Monday, Mace pushed forward a similar resolution about transgender people in the U.S. Capitol, a measure she said was "100% because of" congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), adding that the newly elected trans woman "doesn't get a say" in the policy.

"The radical left says I'm a 'threat,'" Mace said on X after introducing her bill. "You better believe it." Republicans have "increasingly amplified anti-trans messaging in recent years and it's morphed into a common political talking point," NPR said. Mace alone has made "hundreds" of social media posts "about the bathroom issue in recent days," framing it as a safety issue, The Washington Post said.

The federal transgender bathroom bill — which also "appears to extend" to Washington, D.C., "libraries, recreation centers and, potentially, D.C. Public Schools" — is "unlikely to overcome the Senate filibuster," the Post said, and it would run afoul of changes President Joe Biden made to Title IX. But a majority of the GOP-controlled House could approve Mace's resolution for the Capitol. McBride said yesterday she was "not here to fight about bathrooms," but to "fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sidestepped Mace's proposals but said yesterday he was formally decreeing all Capitol single-sex bathrooms "reserved for individuals of that biological sex," adding that every House member had a private bathroom and "unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol." McBride said she "will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson even if I disagree with them."

Explore More

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.