Sarah McBride accuses Republicans of using trans row to ‘distract’ from real problems

Transgender congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride has accused Republicans of trying to “distract” from real issues with their anti-trans bill.

A resolution banning trans people from using toilet facilities in the US house of representatives that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth was passed on Wednesday (20 November) – Trans Day of Remembrance.

The proposal’s author, Nancy Mace, admitted that it was “absolutely” targeted at Sarah McBride, who will be congress’s first out trans representative when she takes up her seat in January.

Speaker Mike Johnson later confirmed that all single-sex facilities in the Capitol and house buildings were “reserved for individuals of that biological sex.”

But in an interview on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday (24 November), McBride said the resolution “is an attempt to distract” from Republican failures.

“Every time we hear them say the word ‘trans,’ look what they’re doing with their right hand,” she said. “Look at what they’re doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatising social security and Medicare.”

Sarah McBride: "It is an attempt to distract … 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." pic.twitter.com/5WUzXAMKD5

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 24, 2024

The Delaware Democrat conceded the fight against the resolution in a post moments before it passed, writing that she was “not here to fight bathrooms” and wanted to focus on her constituents.

“I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families,” she said. “Like all members, I will follow the rules outlined by speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them.

“This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the [past] several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January.”

Her reaction was met with a mixed response. While some people commending her for focusing on campaign promises, others accused her of giving Republicans a “free pass” to attack trans rights further.

“Sarah, this is how we start to lose the rights we’re fighting to keep,” one user wrote in response on X/Twitter. “I can only hope that in the future you will fight for us rather than bend the knee.”

Montana state representative Zooey Zephyr, who is also trans, wrote in a post following the resolution’s passage that she “just got out of meetings with members of congress and used the bathroom on my way out.”

The Democrat added: “Trans women are women, full stop. We’re every bit as ‘biologically female’ as cis women and [Johnson’s] statement doesn’t change the fact that women’s spaces include trans women.”

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