House Speaker Mike Johnson signaled support Tuesday for a Republican effort to ban Democrat Sarah McBride - the first transgender person to be elected to Congress - from using women's restrooms in the Capitol once she's sworn into office next year.
"We're not going to have men in women's bathrooms," Johnson told The Associated Press. "I've been consistent about that with anyone I've talked to about this."
Johnson earlier in the day emphasized the need to "treat all persons with dignity and respect," adding, "This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before, and we're going to do that in deliberate fashion with member consensus on it."
A resolution proposed Monday by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina would prohibit any lawmakers and House employees from "using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex." Mace said the bill is aimed specifically at McBride, who was elected to the House this month from Delaware.
The debate over whether transgender people should be allowed to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identity has been prevalent across the U.S. and was a focal point of President-elect Donald Trump's campaign. At least 11 states have adopted laws barring transgender girls and women from girls and women's bathrooms at public schools, and in some cases other government facilities.
