Sarah McBride is set to be the first openly transgender woman to serve in Congress after she was elected to represent Delaware’s at-large congressional district this month.
Having entered politics at a young age, McBride has spent her career campaigning for expanding access to affordable healthcare, advocating gun reforms and supporting anti-discrimination legislation in Delaware to protect trans people.
But the 34-year-old already finds herself in the firing line from Republicans on Capitol Hill, with GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace filing a bill seeking to ban transgender women from using the women’s bathroom at the U.S. Capitol.
Who is Sarah McBride?
McBride is the member-elect for Delaware’s at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
She previously served as a Democratic state senator in Delaware since November 2020. She is the highest-ranking transgender elected official in United States history and the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress.
But even before her career in professional politics, McBride was a trailblazer. The year before she graduated, she became the first trans woman to intern at the White House, and in 2016, she was the first trans person to speak at the Democratic National Convention. The Wilmington native publicly came out as a transgender woman at 21 through her university’s student newspaper and a viral Facebook post.
Pamela Smith/AP Photo
Meanwhile, she is also credited with helping shape President Joe Biden’s support for LGBTQ rights.
But despite her accomplishments, McBride told Reuters news agency she wanted the focus of her campaign to be on the issues she would strive to change, rather than the historic nature of her candidacy.
“Whenever you are first, you often have to try to be the best version that you can,” she said, acknowledging the “added responsibilities” she feels she has.
“But none of them matter if I don’t fulfil the responsibility of just being the best member of Congress that I can be for Delaware.”
Nonetheless, her election comes as transgender issues increasingly form part of the national political conversation. Nearly half of states, controlled by Republicans have banned gender-affirming care for minors or barred transgender students from sports leagues aligned with their identity. Conversely, 15 Democratic controlled states have enacted “shield” laws to protect access to gender-affirming care.
What is Nancy Mace’s Transgender Bathroom Bill?
One such issue that Republicans have focused on has been bathroom access for transgender people.
And McBride may be forced to confront this issue on her first day of Congress in January after Rep. Nancy Mace put forward a two-page resolution which would prohibit House members and staffers from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.”
The measure covers bathrooms in the Capitol and House offices, charging the House sergeant-at-arms with enforcing the prohibition.
Photo Illustration by Newsweek/Getty Images
The measure has been supported by other house republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. During a GOP conference on Wednesday, Johnson said “there’s not going to be any biological men using our restrooms,” according to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Mace is reportedly trying to get the bill included in the rules for the 119th Congress or have it voted on separately. She said that if her bill fails to pass this year, she will “file this again next congressional session.”
What Have Republicans Said About McBride?
Speaking about the measure, Mace told journalist Pablo Manríquez on Monday: “Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say in this. If you’re a biological man, you shouldn’t be in women’s restrooms.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also said she supported the measure, and referred to McBride as “a man,” and “he” multiple times. “I support a resolution that keeps all biological men out of women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and private places. Not only here in the Capitol complex, our office buildings, but all taxpayer-funded facilities,” she said in a video posted to X.
Greene was then asked how one would “check if someone is qualified to use the ladies’ restroom? Obviously there’s a new transgender member of Congress.”
“Which is a man,” said Greene. “He’s a man. He’s a biological male. So he is not allowed to use our women’s restrooms, our women’s gym, our locker rooms and spaces that are specified for women.
“He’s a biological male,” Greene continued. “He’s got plenty of places he can go.”
Greene was also asked whether “they should make gender-neutral bathrooms.”
“No,” Greene responded. “He can go in the men’s room and he has a bathroom in his office just like all of us do.”
She added: “I use the restroom most of the time in my office. He has a bathroom that will be designated for him.”
Mace did not answer questions about how one would check who is qualified to use female or male restrooms. “Here’s the deal. Biological men shouldn’t be in women’s private spaces, period. End of story,” she responded. “It’s time to make sure that we protect women and girls everywhere.”
In a 2022 Pew Research Center poll, around four in 10 Americans said transgender people should be required to use public bathrooms “that match the sex they were assigned at birth.”
Multiple studies and reviews have found no evidence to support the claim that transgender women or individuals pose an increased threat to safety in bathrooms.
What Has Sarah McBride Said in Response?
Following the remarks, McBride issued her own statement on Monday.
“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,” she said.
“We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars. Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible and that’s what I’m focused on,” she added.
Other Democrats have also condemned the measure. “The cruelty is the point,” Rep. Becca Balint, a co-chair of the Equality Caucus, said.
“Is that what we want the sergeant-at-arms to be doing when we had an attack on the freaking Capitol?”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez added: “This is not just bigotry, this is just plain bullying.”
Republicans Focus on Transgender Issues
Transgender issues increasingly form part of the national political conversation, with Donald Trump and the Republicans frequently trying to capitalize on the debate.
During the election campaign, the president-elect targeted Democrats on transgender issues with a flurry of ads that became widespread by Election Day. One ad featured the message, “Kamala is for they/them; President Trump is for you,” referencing the use of “they” and “them” as pronouns. The 30-second spot was part of a broader $215 million in anti-transgender advertising by Trump and Republicans, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.
Following Trump’s victory, Democrats have been left torn over how to handle transgender politics going forward. “There are just a number of issues where we’re out of touch,” said Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, who has sparked fierce criticism from within his own party for saying in the wake of the election that he didn’t want his daughters playing in sports against biological males.
Once in power, Trump and other Republicans who will hold majorities in both the House and Senate — have threatened to roll back protections and civil liberties for trans people.
A post-election survey by AP found that 55 percent of all Americans—and 85 percent of Trump voters—feel government support for transgender rights has gone too far.
McBride herself has hit back at Trump and Republicans for their focus on transgender issues, saying they are “trying to divide and distract” voters.
“The party that was focused on culture wars, the party that was focused on trans people was the Republican Party,” McBride told reporters on Capitol Hill after her victory. “It was Donald Trump,” she added, who “was trying to divide and distract from the fact that he has absolutely no policy solutions for the issues that are actually keeping voters up at night.”
