‘Squad’ Member AOC Responds to Congressional Bathroom Policy

On By Littum

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned efforts by House Republicans this week to ban transgender people from using single-sex bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol building that are reserved for “individuals of the biological sex,” just weeks after the election of the first transgender member of Congress, Sarah McBride of Delaware.

In a video interview with Spectrum news on Wednesday, New York progressives, known as the AOC, described the policy as “disgusting.”

“If a woman doesn’t look woman enough to a Republican, do they want to be able to inspect her genitalia to use a bathroom?” Ocasio-Cortez asked. “Regardless of how you feel about this issue, (you) should reject it completely.”

“Women deserve women’s only seats” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said in a statement to Reuters. He said members could use bathrooms in their private offices, which can be a 10-minute walk from the House floor where voting and debate takes place, or unisex bathrooms in the Capitol.

McBride said she would comply with Johnson’s order but called it a distraction from more substantive issues. “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for all Delawareans and to lower costs for families,” she said.

The issue became a flashpoint after Republican Rep. Nancy Mace filed a resolution to impose this requirement, which is directed at the incoming legislature.

South Carolina conservatives wrote one barrage of messages on social media, saying she doesn’t “want penises in women’s rooms.” She’s even launched a T-shirt on the issue of bathrooms, saying the proceeds will “fire up the fight to protect women and girls across America.”

In one burning review of Republican men, Ocasio-Cortez rejected the argument that transgender women using women’s restrooms pose a safety risk to women.

“Women know that men don’t plan to ‘dress like girls’ to assault them,” Ocasio-Cortez signed X. “They do it every day in broad daylight. And those in power protect each other to keep it quiet. Just ask the House Ethics Committee. Or the newly elected President of the United States.”

Transgender rights have become a political rallying cry for right-wing politicians in the United States. Legislators in 37 states introduced at least 142 bills to limit gender-affirming health care services for transgender and gender-expansive people by 2023, This was reported by Reutersalmost three times as many as the previous year.

USA TODAY’s Rachel Barber, Sudiksha Kochi and Savannah Kuchar; USA TODAY Network’s Xerxes Wilson and Reuters contributed to this report.