Mike Johnson announces transgender bathroom ban in Capitol after Sarah McBride's election
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday announced a policy banning transgender people from using restrooms in parts of the Capitol that correspond with their gender.
“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.”
Contention surrounding restrooms on the Capitol grounds erupted after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a resolution Monday that would bar transgender women from using women's restrooms, less than a month after incoming Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., was elected as the first openly transgender person to Congress.
McBride in a statement said that she will follow the policy outlined by Johnson.
"I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families," she said.
Johnson's decision was first reported by The Hill.
House rules states that the Speaker has “general control of the Hall of the House, the corridors and passages in the part of the Capitol assigned to the use of the House, and the disposal of unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol.”
However, it's not clear how Johnson's Wednesday announcement will be enforced. Thousands of people work in the halls of Congress, and the policy doesn't just apply to lawmakers.
Johnson’s statement comes on Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors transgender and gender-nonconforming people killed by violence.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, quickly criticized Johnson's decision in a statement.
"Speaker Johnson's holier-than-thou decree to ban transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their identity is a cruel and unnecessary rule that puts countless staff, interns, and visitors to the United States Capitol at risk," he said.
LGBTQ groups also targeted the move. Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement that "this new cruel and discriminatory policy has nothing to do with helping the American people or addressing their priorities–it’s all about hurting people."
About 0.5 percent of adults in the U.S. identify as transgender.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Johnson announces transgender bathroom ban after McBride elected