How Republican Nancy Mace went from LGBTQ+ ally to pushing US Capitol’s trans ban

Nancy Mace, the congresswoman spearheading the US Capitol trans toilet ban, was not always a culture-war warrior. In fact, just two years ago she was one of a few Republicans supporting LGBTQ+ equality bills.

So, what happened?

Nancy Mace, a representative from South Carolina, tabled a resolution on Monday (18 November) to restrict access to single-sex spaces, based on “corresponding biological sex”.

This includes toilets and changing rooms, and affects members of the house of representatives, officers and employees in the lower chamber of congress. 

When questioned about the proposal, she admitted the restrictions were introduced because of incoming Democrat Sarah McBride, who will become the first trans person in congress when she takes up her seat in January after winning the election for Delaware’s at-large district.

“I’m absolutely 100 per cent going to stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a woman’s restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms. I will be there fighting you every step of the way,” Mace said.

Nancy Mace’s anti-trans proposal was passed a day later – on Trans Day of Remembrance – with Republican speaker Mike Johnson confirming: “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. Women deserve women’s only spaces”.

Johnson also pointed out: “Each member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”

Democrats, such as trans lawmaker Zooey Zephyr and congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett, opposed the move, while fellow Republicans backed Mace.

Writing for MSNBC, journalist Brad Polumbo said he was surprised to see Mace take such a deep dive into anti-LGBTQ+ culture wars because, “when I interviewed her in 2021, shortly after she took office, she framed herself as a pro-LGBT, social moderate”.

That interview was published by the conservative Washington Examiner, and Mace said she strongly supported LGBTQ+ rights and believed that no one should be discriminated against.

“I have friends and family [who] identify as LGBTQ,” she said. “Understanding how they feel and how they’ve been treated is important. Having been around gay, lesbian and transgender people has informed my opinion over my life time.”

She went on to say that she did not view the divide over equality issues as “black-and-white”, adding: “Religious liberty, the First Amendment, gay rights and transgender equality can all co-exist”.

But she pointed out that she was a constitutionalist and said: “We have to ensure anti-discrimination laws don’t violate First Amendment rights or religious freedom.”

Mace’s words were seemingly reflected in her actions when she co-sponsored the 2021 Fairness for All Act, a Republican alternative to the Equality Act which would “prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, and protect the free exercise of religion”.

She also voted for legislation regarding loans for LGBTQ+ businesses, she was the only Republican sponsor of a bill which sought to establish a centre for LGBTQ+ veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs and, in 2022, was one of just 47 Republicans who backed the Respect for Marriage Act.

“I always have, and always will, support the right of any American to marry, this vote is no different,” she wrote on her website. “I believe any two people, regardless of the colour of their skin or gender or orientation or otherwise, should be free to enter into marriage together.

“If gay couples want to be as happily – or miserably – married as straight couples, more power to them.”

These progressive approaches from a seemingly socially centrist Republican are a far cry from the anti-trans narratives Mace is now pushing: she posted, or sent out replies, about trans people and toilets more than 300 times in just three days.

For many, this change might be unfathomable, but it could be part of a public relations exercise to court support from more-right-wing sections of her party, and president-elect Donald Trump. He once supported her opponent in the Republican primaries and called Mace “terrible”, claiming, in his usual sweeping, unsubtle way, that she was “despised by almost everyone.”

Whatever the reason for the dramatic about-face, Mace’s resolution is likely to have a ripple effect across a divided nation, emboldening those who seek to strip transgender people of their rights and remove them from public life.

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