USA Johnson: Trans congresswoman should not use women's restroom

The Republican leader of the US House of Representatives wants to ban the first trans woman in Congress from using women's restrooms. The men's and women's restrooms in the Capitol and in the office buildings of the House of Representatives are reserved for "persons of the respective biological sex", Mike Johnson announced in a written statement. However, there is a private restroom in every congressman's office and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol, the Republican added. "Women deserve women-only spaces."

The background to this is a dispute over the use of restrooms in the US parliament: in January, Democrat Sarah McBride will be the first trans woman to enter the US Congress. The 34-year-old was elected to the US House of Representatives in the state of Delaware at the beginning of November, where Republicans retained a narrow majority. Republican Representative Nancy Mace then proposed a resolution stating that members of Congress and employees should only be allowed to use restrooms and changing rooms according to their "biological sex".

McBride criticized the proposal as a blatant attempt by "right-wing extremists" to distract from the fact that they have no solution to America's problems. Congress should rather work on making rents and healthcare more affordable - instead of instigating "culture wars". Among other things, US President-elect Donald Trump had made criticism of trans women's participation in sporting events a campaign issue. He also announced that there would no longer be any financial support from the state for gender reassignment surgery.

SDA