First openly trans rep-elect claims GOP spotlighting transgender issues an 'attempt to distract' voters

Delaware Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender politician in the U.S. House, claimed the GOP’s focus on trans issues is an “attempt to distract" voters.

Rep.-elect Sarah McBride attends an orientation for new members at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 21, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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. 

MRC Free Speech America feels Speaker Mike Johnson should "direct relevant committees and committee chairmen to investigate Google for abridging people’s constitutional rights." (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

"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. 

Rep.-elect Sarah McBride joins other congressional freshmen of the 119th Congress for a group photograph on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 15, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"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.

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"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. 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/first-openly-trans-rep-elect-claims-gop-spotlighting-transgender-issues-attempt-distract-voters