Congress
Democrats urge bipartisan cooperation, condemn new House Speaker’s extremism
Some say House GOP members in vulnerable districts will suffer political consequences
Following Wednesday’s election of the new Republican House Speaker, U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (La.), President Joe Biden and the top Democrats of both chambers pledged to work with him in good faith, noting the appropriations bills that must be passed before Nov. 17 to avoid a government shutdown and shore up America’s national security interests.
Meanwhile, other elected Democrats, along with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee, and advocacy groups closely tied to the party, responded by flagging Johnson’s far-right conservative record, particularly with respect to LGBTQ and reproductive rights – arguing, in many cases, that his election is proof of the Republican Party’s embrace of extremism.
“Mike Johnson is Jim Jordan in a sports coat,” DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement to the Washington Blade, comparing the lesser-known Republican leader with the outspoken, bomb-throwing hardline congressman from Ohio (who is often seen without a jacket).
He continued, “Electing him as Speaker sends a clear signal that the so-called moderate House Republicans have completely fallen in line with his repellent, discriminatory attacks on the LGBTQ community. From introducing a federal “Don’t Say Gay” bill to propelling openly homophobic commentary before Congress, Johnson has consistently attacked the LGBTQ community with hate and ignorance.”
The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBTQ candidates to public office, told the Blade that House Republicans’ choice of Johnson for speaker will jeopardize the seats of GOP members in vulnerable districts.
“Mike Johnson prides himself on discrimination and hatred for LGBTQ+ people, dedicating most of his career to opposing our basic rights. He introduced a federal “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is the current sponsor of three national abortion bans, is against marriage equality and wants to ban lifesaving gender-affirming care,” the group said in a statement.
The group’s statement continues, “By casting their ballots for Rep. Johnson, representatives like Ken Calvert, Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Mike Lawler have made their anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice views very clear. Polling shows voters favor pro-equality and pro-choice legislation – these extremist votes will undoubtedly have consequences on Election Day.”
In a post Wednesday pinned to her page on X, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.), the chamber’s second highest-ranking Democrat, said, “House Republicans have learned nothing from their three-week civil war. Mike Johnson wants to criminalize abortion everywhere and degrade democracy for everyone. They reject reasonable bipartisanship and celebrate MAGA fealty.”
The Congressional Equality Caucus released a statement from its Chair, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who said “Today, the House had the opportunity to elect a Speaker of the House who could lead in a bipartisan manner to move America forward. Instead, extreme MAGA Republicans elected a Speaker who has dedicated his career to attacking LGBTQI+ people and pushing an anti-equality agenda.”
“The House has already taken more than 10 anti-equality votes this Congress,” Pocan said. “By electing Mike Johnson—a vehement opponent of LGBTQI+ equality—as Speaker, his supporters have signaled they want these attacks against our community to continue.”
Six of the Equality Caucus’s eight co-chairs, all of whom are LGBTQ, condemned Johnson’s election in separate statements or posts on X: Democratic U.S. Reps. Mark Takano (Calif.), Becca Balint (Vt.), Robert Garcia (Calif.), Sharice Davids (Kan.) Eric Sorensen (Ill.), and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.).
Stalled for weeks by House GOP’s failure to choose a speaker, leading Democrats urge bipartisanship
In a statement congratulating Johnson, Biden said that while House Republicans spent the last 22 days trying to unite around a new leader, he was working on a funding package addressing national security needs, the border, and other investments on behalf of the American people:
“Jill and I congratulate Speaker Johnson on his election.
“As I said when this process began, whoever the Speaker is, I will seek to work with them in good faith on behalf of the American people. That’s a principle I have always held to, and that I’ve acted on – delivering major bipartisan legislation on infrastructure, outcompeting China, gun reform, and veterans care.
“I restated my willingness to continue working across the aisle after Republicans won the majority in the House last year. By the same token, the American people have made clear that they expect House Republicans to work with me and with Senate Democrats to govern across the aisle – to protect our urgent national security interests and grow our economy for the middle class.
“While House Republicans spent the last 22 days determining who would lead their conference, I have worked on those pressing issues, proposing a historic supplemental funding package that advances our bipartisan national security interests in Israel and Ukraine, secures our border, and invests in the American people. These priorities have been endorsed by leaders in both parties.
“We need to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown in 22 days. Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can. This is a time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship.”
According to a White House pool report Wednesday from The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief David Smith, Biden called Johnson to congratulate him and “expressed that he looks forward to working together to find common ground on behalf of the American people.”
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment addressing fears and concerns among the LGBTQ community over Johnson’s election.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) posted a clip on X from his floor speech in which he calls for bipartisan cooperation.
House Dems are ready to get to work.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) January 7, 2023
Defend the progress that has been made.
And continue to deliver for the people. pic.twitter.com/7PNIaWhcKX
Likewise, in a statement on X, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) said, “I look forward to meeting with Speaker Johnson soon to discuss the path forward to avoid a shutdown. I’ll convey that bipartisanship is the only way we can deliver results. The only way to avoid a shutdown, pass critical funding, deliver common-sense investments is bipartisanship.”
LGBTQ groups highlight Johnson’s extremism
The Human Rights Campaign issued a press release headlined: “As Extreme as It Gets: Supposed ‘Moderates’ in GOP Conference Choose as Speaker an Election Denier Who Called LGBTQ+ People a ‘Deviant Group’.
“The MAGA House majority has selected the most anti-equality Speaker in U.S. history by elevating Mike Johnson,” the organization’s President Kelley Robinson said in a statement, “a choice that will be a stain on the record of everyone who voted for him.”
“Johnson is someone who doesn’t hesitate to express his disdain for the LGTBQ+ community from the rooftops and then introduces legislation that seeks to erase us from society,” she wrote, adding, “Just like Jim Jordan, Mike Johnson is an election-denying, anti-LGBTQ+ extremist, and the lawmakers who appeared to stand on principle in opposing Jordan’s bid have revealed themselves to be just as out-of-touch as their new leader.”
After Robinson’s comments, HRC’s press release goes on to highlight Johnson’s “Appalling History of Attacking LGBTQ+ Rights.”
On X, GLAAD linked to the congressman’s GLAAD Accountability Project page, which contains details on his record, writing in the post that Johnson “has a long anti-LGBTQ history, including authoring a federal “Don’t Say LGBTQ” bill last year, working as senior attorney and spokesperson for the anti-LGBTQ group Alliance Defending Freedom.”
Brian K. Bond, president of PFLAG National, said the organization “welcomes an end to the constitutional crisis caused by the vacancy in the second in line to the presidency. To be clear, Speaker Johnson has a history of working to deny freedom to LGBTQ+ people and families in the U.S., to deny the legitimacy of the federal election, and to deny access to safe and legal abortion.”
“The role of Speaker requires that he works to preserve the rights and freedoms of all Americans, no matter their race, where they are from, their gender, or their ability,” he said, “and PFLAG is watching and willing to hold him accountable—because the lives and well-being of LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones depend on it.”
“I would be hard-pressed to think of a worse member to be elected speaker of the house, not simply for LGBTQ communities, but for the American people,” National LGBTQ Task Force Director Allen Morris said in an emailed statement.
“Many of my family members have resided in the 4th Congressional district of Louisiana for decades so I know from personal experience his track record on civil rights and minority issues is clear and stark as our community continues to find itself under attack,” he said.
“Americans should consider his track record on the preservation and maintenance of our very democracy as one that should concern us all,” Morris said. “This entire process of choosing a new speaker of the house has only served to expose even more how MAGA extremism continues to degrade our ability to allow Congress to reconcile the important issues impacting us.”
Congress
House speaker bars trans women from restrooms on Transgender Day of Remembrance
Policy targets Sarah McBride, who will be the first trans member of Congress
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has barred transgender women from using women’s restrooms on the House side of the U.S. Capitol and the House office buildings, his office announced in a statement on Wednesday.
The move comes on Transgender Day of Remembrance, which memorializes those who have been murdered as a consequence of transphobia.
“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.
The speaker added, “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.”
Asked how the measure would be enforced, Johnson declined to specify, telling reporters that “like all House policies, it’s enforceable.”
Wednesday’s announcement comes two days after U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a proposal to exclude trans women from women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill.
The congresswoman said her policy was partially designed to target incoming Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, who will be the first trans member of Congress when she is seated in January.
Mace and other House Republicans who endorsed her proposal, like U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) used transphobic language when discussing McBride and deliberately misgendered her.
McBride responded on X that the effort is a distraction from the more pressing work in which Congress should be engaged.
Several House Democrats leapt to her defense, from the openly gay and lesbian members of the Congressional Equality Caucus to the Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), with the latter two calling the bill “bullying.”
Congress
MTG: House speaker ‘committed’ that Sarah McBride will not use women’s restrooms
First trans member of Congress target of bigoted bathroom proposal
Speaking with reporters after a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday, far-right U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) “committed to me, there in the conference, that Sarah McBride will not be using our restrooms.”
On Monday, less than two weeks after the Delaware state senator was elected to become the first transgender member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) proposed a resolution to prohibit House members and staffers from “using single-sex facilities” in the U.S. Capitol and House office buildings “other than those corresponding to their biological sex.”
In an exchange with Capitol Hill reporters and on social media, Mace confirmed that the policy was deliberately meant to target McBride.
Responding to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Johnson shared an exchange between the speaker and reporters at the weekly GOP stakeout press conference:
Pablo Manriquez: Do you think Sarah McBride is a man or a woman?
Johnson: Look, I’m not going to get into this. We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people. I believe it’s a it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will, and I’m not going to engage in in in silly debates about this. There’s a concern about the uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before, and we’re going to do that in deliberate fashion with member consensus on it, and we will accommodate the needs of every single person. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
Ryan Schmelz (FOX): Do you plan on bringing Nancy Mace’s transgender bill and putting that into the rules package?
Johnson: We’re not, going to address the plans on any of that. I just told you what I’m going to say about the issue. I’m not going to engage in this. We don’t look down upon anyone. We treat everybody with dignity and respect. That’s a principle that I pursued my whole life. And we will take care of this, you know, issue of first impression for Congress, as we will any other thing. We’ll provide appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress.
The Republican leader told Axios on Monday that “We’re going to talk about” Mace’s proposal. “We’re working on the issue.”
After she introduced the resolution on Monday, congressional Democrats and LGBTQ groups were quick to denounce the effort as a bigoted and unprovoked attack against a freshman colleague.
Human Rights Campaign spokesperson Delphine Luneau shared a statement with the Washington Blade on Tuesday:
“Speaker Mike Johnson claims that he’ll treat all lawmakers with ‘dignity and respect,’ but actions speak louder than words. The voters of Delaware sent Sarah McBride to represent them in Congress, and the House has an obligation and duty to treat her with humanity and decency. The proposed House rule that targets her and other trans officers and staff members must be rejected, and the nation’s lawmakers need to focus on doing their jobs to deliver results for the voters they represent.”
Congress
GOP resolution targets Sarah McBride, the first trans member of Congress
Bill by Rep. Mace would prohibit her from using women’s restrooms
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Monday proposed a resolution that would prohibit House members and staffers from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.”
The bill, which comes just two weeks after Sarah McBride was elected to become the first transgender member of Congress, would block her from accessing women’s bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol and House office buildings.
Republican leadership including House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) have indicated they will seriously consider the proposal, while House Democrats denounced the effort as a cruel attempt to bully an incoming freshman colleague.
“Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness,” McBride said in a post on X.
“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,” she said. “We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars.”
“Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible and that’s what I’m focused on,” McBride added.
Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness.
— Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) November 19, 2024
In her successful bid for Delaware’s at-large congressional seat, McBride’s campaign did not center the historic nature of her candidacy but rather her record of delivering results for her constituents like paid family and medical leave.
She did, however, talk about how everyone deserves a representative in Congress who respects them and their families.
Mace used transphobic language attacking McBride when speaking with reporters about her bill on Monday. “Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say. I mean, this is a biological man,” she said, adding that the lawmaker “does not belong in women’s spaces, women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, period, full stop” and instead should “use the men’s restroom.”
“I’m going to be standing in the brink, standing in his or her way, putting a stop to this insanity and this nonsense,” the South Carolina congresswoman said. She did not directly address a question about what “mechanism” might be used for “checking who’s qualified to use the ladies’ room,” but her bill specifies that the House sergeant-at-arms would be responsible for enforcement.
Asked whether she introduced the bill “specifically because Sarah McBride is coming to Congress,” Mace said “that, and more.”
Fielding questions from reporters on the steps of the Capitol Monday, far-right U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) endorsed her colleague’s proposal while using anti-trans language and deliberately misgendering the incoming congresswoman from Delaware.
“He is a man. He is a biological male,” she said. “He has plenty of places he can go.”
LGBTQ House members rally behind soon-to-be colleague
Gay U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, shared a statement with the Washington Blade on Tuesday.
“It’s been a while since Nancy Mace has had her 15 minutes of fame,” he said. “Republicans keep desperately lashing out against trans people to try and distract from the fact that this Congress has been one of the least productive in history—they can’t even pass a Farm Bill or pass major appropriations bills, so they turn to using these cruel attacks to distract from their inability to govern and failure to deliver for the American people.”
“Nancy Mace’s resolution is a pathetic, attention-seeking attempt to grab Trump’s eye and the media spotlight—and trans people, including trans employees, are paying the price,” Pocan added.
Several of the eight other LGBTQ House members, all serving as co-chairs of the caucus, had spoken out against the bill as of Tuesday morning.
“The cruelty is the point,” U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) said. “Is that what we want the sergeant-at-arms to be doing when we had an attack on the freaking Capitol?”
“Let’s call this what it is: bullying,” Equality PAC Co-Chairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said in a joint statement. “Instead of working to lower daily household costs for families and provide real relief for those struggling across our country, House Republicans have decided to single out one newly elected Member of Congress and make her life more difficult for absolutely no reason at all.”
“This is nothing more than a pathetic attempt from a member who has repeatedly shown no interest in governing simply to make headlines and get attention,” they said. “Congress has a responsibility to focus on the issues that matter to all Americans, not to police who uses which bathroom.”
The congressmen added, “Equality PAC stands proudly with Sarah as we fight back against this baseless attack on her and the trans community. And we will always stand up to bullies – especially those we serve alongside in the US. Capitol Building.”
HRC condemns Mace’s resolution
Human Rights Campaign spokesperson Laurel Powell released the following statement on Tuesday:
“Let’s call this what it is: Rather than focusing on issues that matter to Americans, Rep. Mace is seeking a spotlight by cruelly discriminating against her incoming colleague, the first openly transgender person to be elected to Congress.
“Her resolution would also target trans people who have worked and served in the Capitol long before this month’s elections–more proof this is merely a political charade by a grown-up bully.
“It is another warning sign that the incoming anti-equality House majority will continue to focus on targeting LGBTQ+ people rather than the cost of living, price gouging or any of the problems the American people elected them to solve.”
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