Delaware sparked a firestorm this month after electing its first transgender woman to Congress, with some Republican lawmakers demanding the new lawmaker be banned from women's restrooms.
Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Democratic state senator from President Biden's hometown of Claymont, Delaware, defeated retired Delaware State Trooper John Whalen III 58% to 42%. Mr. McBride will replace Del. Lisa Blunt-Rochester, the U.S. Representative who won the seat vacated by the retiring Tom Carper.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R.S.C.) led the charge against allowing Mr. McBride to use the women's restroom in the Capitol. Although biologically male, McBride identifies and describes herself as female. Mace said Tuesday that he is currently receiving death threats, adding that he is being “unfairly targeted.”
Mace drafts resolution Monday HR 1579 This prohibits members, officers, and staff of the House of Representatives from using facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.
Mace faces backlash over effort to ban transgender lawmakers from women's restrooms
Delaware State Treasurer Colleen Davis (left) and State Sen. Sarah McBride (D-Claymont) speak on the steps of the State Capitol in Dover. (Getty/File)
As of Tuesday afternoon, the proposal had been referred to the House Administration Committee, currently chaired by Rep. Brian Still (R-Wis.), but it did not appear to have been voted on.
The bill would direct House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland to implement the new provisions.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told reporters she supported Mace's decision and called McBride “mentally ill.”
“Sarah McBride (formerly known as Tim McBride) is a biological human being who should not be using the restrooms of the Capitol or the restrooms of any office building,” Greene said.
“Nancy Mace's resolution is not enough. Her resolution is just a statement from Congress that Congress doesn't agree with something. We need something more binding.”
“I'm not going to get into this,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), a prominent social conservative.
“We welcome with open arms all new members who are duly elected representatives of the people. We believe in our mandate to treat all people with dignity and respect. , I will. And I'm not going to get into a stupid discussion about this.” ”
Mr Johnson added that the issue of gender identity in changing rooms and toilets is an issue that Parliament has had to address before and therefore deserves honest deliberation and “consensus among MPs”.
“And we meet everyone's needs,” the speaker added.
Green said the situation is reminiscent of how student-athletes were physiologically forced to compete against stronger biological males as a baseline.
“Today we have a volleyball player who suffered brain damage because a biological male hit him with a ball in the head.”
In this regard, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who was forced to compete with a transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer, slammed McBride's sharp response to the criticism.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File)
“And even after the tantrum, he's still a man,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Gaines is a contributor to OutKick.com and Host of “Gains for Girls”“Podcast.
In a 2015 American University Magazine article, McBride said, “My father told me that he didn't lose a son; he gave birth to a daughter. It was one of the most profound transitions in my life. It was one of those moments. When it was over, I was so relieved.” It was clear that my parents saw me as I was. ”
In previous comments about her decision, Mace said she was a rape survivor and still suffers from PTSD from her abuse at the hands of men.
Mace said late Tuesday that the issue is about protecting women and girls and making sure Congress acts accordingly.
”[McBride] I don't have the right to speak. This is about real women and women's rights and the far-left radical left. They are trying to erase women and women's rights, and I will not forgive them,” she said.
“Here's the deal: Biological males should not enter a woman's private space. This is the end,” she said.
California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia defended McBride on Tuesday, telling reporters he was “stomach-wrenched” by Mace's determination.
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Congresswoman Nancy Mace, R.S.C. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib/File)
In a statement, McBride called the situation “a blatant attempt by far-right extremists to distract from the fact that there are no real solutions to the realities facing the American people.”
“The people of Delaware sent me here to make the American Dream more affordable and accessible, and that's what I'm focused on.”
Fox News Digital reached out to McBride's campaign and Dover office for additional comment on the new criticism and received an initial statement.
Fox News' Daniel Scully, Tyler Olson and Ryan Schmeltz contributed to this report..
