Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr — a Democrat who identifies as a “progressive, bisexual trans woman” — claimed that transgender women are “every bit as ‘biologically female’ as cis women.”
“I literally just got out of meetings with members of Congress & used the bathroom on my way out. Trans women are women—full stop,” Zephyr declared in a post on X.
“We’re every bit as “biologically female” as cis women & @SpeakerJohnson’s statement doesn’t change the fact that women’s spaces include trans women,” Zephyr added.
Fox News Digital attempted to reach out to Zephyr for comment on Thursday.
Zooey Zephyr attends The Out100 Party 2023 at NeueHouse Hollywood on Nov. 9, 2023 in Hollywood, Calif. (Presley Ann/Getty Images for Out.com)
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement issued on Wednesday that single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings are for members of the corresponding biological sex.
“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,” he said in the statement.
“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Johnson added. “Women deserve women’s only spaces.”
U.S. Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Democratic Delaware state senator, will become the first openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress after being sworn in to office next year.
“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them,” McBride said in a statement.
MACE FACES BACKLASH OVER EFFORT TO BAN NEW TRANSGENDER MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM WOMEN’S BATHROOMS
Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., poses for a photograph after joining other congressional freshmen of the 119th Congress for a group photograph on the steps of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol Building on Nov. 15, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has referred to McBride as a “biological male,” said in a post on X, “Sarah McBride’s promise to abide by Speaker Johnson’s policy is a step toward acknowledging the rights of women everywhere—something we’ll continue to demand without compromise.”
Mace had proposed a resolution to prohibit House members and others from frequenting single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings that do not align with their biological sex.
“A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may not use a single-sex facility (including a restroom, changing room, or locker room) in the Capitol or House Office Buildings, other than those corresponding to the biological sex of such individual,” the text of her resolution read, noting that the House sergeant-at-arms would be tasked with enforcement.
Johnson initially declined to answer on Tuesday when asked whether McBride is a man or a woman, but the speaker later made a statement in which he said he had rejected the question’s “premise because the answer is … so obvious.”
“A man is a man. And a woman is a woman. And a man cannot become a woman,” Johnson declared. “But I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity.”
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Mace, who has declared on X that “A trans woman is still a man,” has announced a bill that would stipulate that people may only enter single-sex facilities on federal property that match their biological sex.
The proposal provides exceptions for medical workers responding to an emergency and for law enforcement officers chasing a suspect or conducting an investigation.
“Oh you thought threatening me would silence me? No. I just doubled down and filed a new bill to protect women and girls across the entire country on all federal property everywhere,” Mace declared in a post on X.