Sarah McBride, the First Openly Trans Person Elected to Congress, Will Be Banned From Using Women’s Restrooms in the Capitol

Two steps forward, one step back. Though Representative-elect Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, just made history as the first openly transgender person to win a seat in Congress, her Republican colleagues are already using her presence to roll out a decidedly anti-trans agenda.

Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina recently introduced a bill that would ban transgender people from single-sex spaces (bathrooms and locker rooms) that do not correspond with their “biological sex” on federal property, quickly earning the support of a fellow Republican, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. “I know how vulnerable women and girls are in private spaces,” Mace said of her bill, per NPR. “So I’m absolutely, 100 percent, going to stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a women’s restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms.” Mace also confirmed that McBride’s election is what prompted her to put the measure forth.

It’s unclear if or when the bill would get a vote, but as for the federal property that is the US Capitol building, House Speaker Mike Johnson is already declaring the policy in effect. “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,” Johnson said in a statement, noting that, “each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”