Congress is being pulled directly into a fight over who on Capitol Hill can use which bathrooms.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a resolution to amend the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives requiring those in the Capitol to use the bathroom that matches their biological sex on November 18th.

Mace’s action appears to be an attempt to flush a conflict before it happens. In roughly two months, Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE) will be sworn in as a member of the 199th Congress. McBride is transgender and was born as a male, but has since claimed to be a woman.

“Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say. I mean, this is a biological man,” the South Carolina Republican told reporters the same day as she introduced her resolution, adding that the soon-to-be lawmaker “does not belong in women’s spaces, women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, period, full stop.”

McBride responded on X, saying that “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.”

In another post, the Delawarean turned up the temperature, saying “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.”

Talking to CNN, Mace said, “This is a biological man trying to force himself into women’s spaces, and I’m not going to tolerate it.”

She added, “I’m the first woman to graduate from the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. If some guy in a skirt came by and said, ‘No, that’s my achievement.’ I’m going to be there and standing in the way and saying, ‘Hell no.’ I’m not going to allow men to erase women or women’s rights.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), the following day said, “We’ll provide accommodations for every member of Congress.”

He left the meaning of this statement vague. He added only that, “there’s a concern about the uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before. We’re going to do that in a deliberate fashion with members’ consensus on it, and we will accommodate the needs of every single person.”

While Johnson demured and Mace pressed for change, some representatives found the South Carolina congresswoman’s resolution to be insufficiently strong.

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“You know, Sarah McBride … should not be using any of our restrooms in the Capitol, in our office buildings. But Nancy Mace’s resolution doesn’t go far enough,” Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) reportedly said.

“A resolution is just a statement by Congress saying that Congress disagrees with something we need, something more binding. And that’s what I just brought up at the microphones there — in our conference. I directly asked Speaker Johnson what the men in our leadership are going to do about this, because this has to be stopped,” Greene added.

Going further is not something Mace appears to be opposed to. In a statement reported by ABC News, the representative signaled that the House resolution was the first action that needed to be taken but also: “This shouldn’t be going on any federal property. If you’re a school or an institution that gets government funding, this kind of thing should be banned. I think it’s sick. It’s twisted.”

The ABC story said she explained her position this way, “I’m a rape survivor. I have PTSD from the abuse I’ve suffered at the hands of a man, and I know how vulnerable women and girls are in private spaces, so I’m absolutely 100% 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. I will be there fighting you every step of the way.”

The public discourse around this resolution has been as charged as the congressional rhetoric.

ttps://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1858938368417026276https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/18589383684170262Libs of TikTok posted a screenshot to X of what appeared to be an Instagram story from the account Venuspeenis. “This trans activist is now openly posting death threats against @RepNancyMace @FBI,” Libs of TikTok said.

The attached image purported to show Venuspeenis saying “Prepare to die @repnancymace.”

The Dallas Express attempted to independently verify the posting but it appears the Instagram account was either recently suspended or deleted as DX was met with an error message.
https://x.com/ArmandDoma/status/1858914933347639500

Quote tweeting a post from Mace that read, “insane to expect women to make men comfortable in our own private spaces,” Armand Domalewski responded.

He wrote, “Look, I genuinely don’t care who is in the bathroom with me, but the law you’re proposing says the person on the left should use the women’s bathroom and the person on the right should use the men’s bathroom.”

Some responders found this position to averse to the supposed will of the people that some people say was signaled in the recent GOP victories in the November General Election. “jfc you haven’t learned a thing from the election [.] men can’t be women, women can’t be men [.] the only misogyny is putting men in women’s safe spaces and sports [.] actually keep touting your delusions.. I’m sure 2028 will magically go differently for you,” one user wrote.
  • The House of Representatives needs 218 votes or a simple majority to pass a rules package. Republicans won 222 seats in the general election. The packages are typically one of the first things a new Congress considers. It is not clear, as of the time of this writing, if Mace’s rule will be a part of that package.