House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he would support Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-S.C.) proposal to ban trans women in the House of Representatives from using bathrooms to women of the Capitol.Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Zuma

A day intended to commemorate transgender people who were murdered in violent acts of bigotry, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) united to bring their transphobia to Congress .

Wednesday, one day after Mace introduced a resolution banning trans people from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity, Johnson unilaterally announced a policy doing just that. If enforced, the rule would apply to trans people using restrooms and locker rooms in the Capitol building and House offices.

“Women deserve women-only spaces,” Johnson said journalists. “And we’re not anti-anyone, we’re pro-women.”

“It’s always been, I guess, an unwritten policy,” he added, “but now it’s written.” In an emailed statement, Johnson said“It is important to note that each member office has its own private restroom and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”

The move took place on recognized every year Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Speaker Johnson just said, “Yes, like all House policies, they are enforceable. Look, we have single-sex facilities for a reason. Women deserve women-only spaces. And we are not anti-anyone, we are pro-women. I think it’s an important policy that we were pursuing. pic.twitter.com/m3FakHHoz7

-Ellis Kim (@elliskkim) November 20, 2024

As I wrote yesterday, although Mace’s resolution does not mention Rep.-elect Sarah McBride’s name, Mace said this effort “absolutely” targets McBride, the first openly trans person to be elected to Congress. (Mace has also repeatedly misinterpreted her on social media.) A spokesperson for McBride did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon, but on Monday she called Mace’s resolution “is a blatant attempt by far-right extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to the problems facing Americans” and claims that Mace is “manufacturing culture wars.”

Johnson said Wednesday that the policy would be enforceable, but did not specify how. He also hasn’t committed to including it in the set of rules, which outline House protocol and which members will vote on when the next session begins in early January. Mace’s resolution says the House sergeant-at-arms would be responsible for enforcing the rule; that office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

LGBTQ advocates have since criticized this policy and questioned how it could even be enforced. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, called Johnson’s announcement is “a cruel and unnecessary rule that puts countless employees, interns, and visitors to the U.S. Capitol at risk.” Mace’s resolution clarifies that it applies to “members, officers, and employees of the House, but Johnson’s statement is less specific, and therefore potentially broader.” It specifies that “all single-sex establishments… are reserved for individuals of this biological sex”.

Pocan also asked, “Will the Sergeant at Arms post officers in the restrooms? Will everyone who works at the Capitol be required to carry their birth certificate or undergo genetic testing? Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement: “This cruel and discriminatory new policy has nothing to do with helping the American people or meeting their priorities; it’s all about hurting people. »

However, Mace doesn’t stop at the Capitol bathroom. On Wednesday, she announcement she plans to introduce a bill that aims to go further than her resolution, seeking to ban trans people from using women’s restrooms and locker rooms all federal property. It is unclear whether Johnson will support it. In a statement, Mace said: “The radical left says I am a “threat”. You better believe it. And I will shamelessly report you for putting women and girls in danger.

While questions about the policy’s applicability remain unanswered, Mace and fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have openly threatened physical violence against trans people in Congress who violate the toilet policy. “It will be about throwing – there will be punching if that happens,” Mace said YouTube personality Michael Knowles on Wednesday.

Johnson’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on whether he condemned the members’ threats of violence.

At least 36 transgender and gender nonconforming people have been killed in the United States over the past year. according to a report by the Human Rights Campaign. Additionally, hundreds of pieces of legislation targeting LGBTQ people have been passed. introduced In state legislatures across the country, hate crimes against LGBTQ people reported to the FBI have reached records, and calls to a suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth increased by nearly 700 percent the day after Trump’s re-election.

But on these realities, Mace and Johnson seem to have nothing to say.