Speaker Johnson Will Enforce Capitol Hill Bathroom Policy Based on ‘Biological Sex’: ‘We Are Not Anti-Anyone’
(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) vowed to enforce a policy that restricts transgender individuals from using bathrooms in the Capitol that match their gender identity on Wednesday.
The GOP House leader announced in a statement that all single-sex facilities in the Capitol building could only used for “individuals of that biological sex.” His statement occurs weeks after the first transgender politician was elected to Congress.
Johnson went on to claim that members of Congress have their own private restrooms and that unisex bathrooms will be able available on Capitol grounds.
“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Johnson said in a statement. “Women deserve women’s only spaces.”
A day before the official announcement, Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called Johnson’s plan “bullying.” Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the decision is “mean and cruel.”
Johnson doubled down on enforcing the new bathroom rules when asked by Politico reporter Olivia Beavers.
I asked the speaker if this would be enforceable and he said:
“Like all House policies, it’s enforceable. And we have single sex facilities for a reason, and women deserve women’s only spaces. And we are not anti anyone and we are pro-woman. I think it is an important policy for… pic.twitter.com/usCfmnhRD9
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) November 20, 2024
“Like all House policies, it’s enforceable. And we have single sex facilities for a reason, and women deserve women’s only spaces. And we are not anti-anyone and we are pro-woman,” Johnson added. “I think it is an important policy for us to continue. It’s always been an unwritten policy and now it is in writing.”
