Johnson declines to say whether the transgender re-elected McBride is a man or a woman

House Speaker Mike Johnson declined to answer whether transgender Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., is a man or a woman, vowing to “treat all individuals with dignity and respect.”

At the House GOP’s weekly press conference Tuesday, a reporter asked Johnson, “Is the newly elected Sarah McBride a man or a woman?”

“Look, I’m not going to get into that. We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people,” Johnson replied. “I think it’s a… commandment that we treat all people with dignity and respect, and we will. And I don’t want to engage in… silly debates about this. There is a concern about the use of toilet facilities and changing rooms and all that This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before, and we will do that in a deliberate way, and we will meet the needs of each individual.

Fox News Radio Capitol Hill and White House correspondent Ryan Schmelz asked Johnson a follow-up question, asking if he plans to bring a resolution introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace, RS.C., on banning transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the US Capitol “and put it in the rules package”?

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, accompanied by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on November 19, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“I’m not going to address the plans for any of that,” Johnson said. “I’ve just told you what I want to say on the subject. I’m not going to get involved in this. We don’t look down on anyone. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. It’s a principle that I’ve pursued all my life And we’re going to take care of this, you know, issue — a first impression to Congress — as well as we’re going to provide the appropriate housing for every member of Congress.

Mace introduced a resolution on Monday that would prohibit members, officers and staff of the House from using “single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” It claims that “allowing biological males into single-sex facilities, such as toilets, changing rooms and changing rooms designed for women, jeopardizes the safety and dignity of Members, officers and staff of Parliament who are women.”

In X posts Monday, McBride derided the resolution as “a blatant attempt by far-right extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.”

“Every day Americans go to work with people who have different life journeys than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster the same kindness,” McBride wrote.

Rep. Nancy Mace speaks to reporters before a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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“The radical left is calling me an extremist for being a feminist fighting to protect the rights of women and girls,” Mace said in a follow-up video message shared to X on Tuesday. “If being a feminist makes me an extremist or a bigot or a monster, I’m all for it because I’m going to fight like hell for every woman and every little girl in this country to protect you and keep you safe .”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said Tuesday she asked the men in the House Republican Conference what they would do to prevent biological males from using seats reserved for biological females at the U.S. Capitol.

Newly elected Sarah McBride, left, joins colleagues for a freshman class photo on the Capitol steps, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“You know, Sarah McBride, as he calls himself, formerly Tim McBride, is a biological male, and he shouldn’t be using any of our restrooms in the Capitol, and that in our office buildings. But Nancy Mace’s decision doesn’t go far. enough,” Greene told reporters. “America gave a mandate in this election saying they are not only tired of the open borders, the invasion, the inflation out of control, foreign wars, but they are tired of the trans ideology being shoved down our throats. And that is an attack on women and children across the country.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told reporters that the Democratic caucus supports McBride “100%,” and condemned the resolution brought by Mace.

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“It’s just disgusting,” Garcia told reporters. “I was actually sick to my stomach when I read that yesterday. And I think it’s really unfortunate that someone is being attacked. She just got to the convention. She’s going to use the bathroom that she needs to use. It’s just sick that we have to have this conversation… I’ve heard disgust, to be honest, on both sides of the aisle.And so I hope this just moves forward and lets her legislate on .”