The first openly transgender politician elected to the U.S. House, Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, claimed Sunday that the GOP’s focus on transgender issues is an "attempt to distract" voters.
"I think we are all united that attempts to attack a vulnerable community are not only mean spirited, but really an attempt to misdirect. Because every single time we hear the incoming administration or Republicans in Congress talk about any vulnerable group in this country, we have to be clear that it is an attempt to distract," McBride, who was elected to represent Delaware earlier this month, said Sunday morning on CBS’ "Face the Nation."
"It is an attempt to distract from what they are actually doing. Every single time, every single time we hear them say the word ‘trans,’ look what they're doing with their right hand. Look at what they're doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatizing Social Security and Medicare. Look what they're doing, undermining workers," McBride added.
President-elect Trump, conservative voters and members of Congress have all raised concerns regarding transgender issues, including stretching back years, most notably in the context of barring biological men from competing in women’s and girls' sports, as well as banning men from women’s bathrooms and locker rooms.
On Capitol Hill, South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution last week that moves to prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using "single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex."
Mace, a rape survivor, also introduced another bill that would "ban biological men from using women’s private, protected facilities – such as bathrooms and locker rooms – on all federal property" across the nation.
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Democrats, including McBride, slammed Mace as a "far-right" extremist for the legislation.
"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. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars," McBride posted to X.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said later in the week that single-sex facilities on Capitol Hill, including bathrooms, will be used by individuals with the corresponding biological sex.
"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 obtained by Fox News Digital. "It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol."
"Women deserve women’s only spaces," he added.
"Like all policies, it is enforceable," Johnson later told reporters. "But we have single-sex facilities for a reason, and women deserve women's only spaces. And we're not anti anyone. We're pro-women, and I think it's an important policy for us to continue. It's always been the, I guess, an unwritten policy, but now it's in writing."
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McBride continued during her Sunday interview that the GOP’s focus on trans issues distracts Congress from policy issues such as lowering the cost of living.
"Here's also what we have to be clear about, because I think the last week has been a prime example of this. Every bit of time and energy that is used to divert the attention of the federal government to go after trans people is time and energy that is not focused on addressing the cost of living for our constituents. And we have to be clear that there is a real cost for the American worker every time they focus on this," McBride said.
Mace joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday, where she pushed back on Democrats criticizing her for introducing the legislation, notably New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
"It's sad and surprising that in 2024 I have to go on TV and on social media to explain to the radical left that men shouldn't be allowed in women's restrooms, that women shouldn't be forced to undress in front of men."
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
