President of the House Mike Johnson made a clarification Tuesday after previously refusing to answer a reporter’s question about whether transgender Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., is a man or a woman.

“I just want to make a statement for all of you here and be very clear: I was asked a question this morning at the leaders’ gathering, and I rejected that hypothesis because the answer is so obvious,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday afternoon. “For anyone who is unfamiliar with my well-established record on this issue, allow Let me be unequivocally clear: A man is a man and a woman is a woman. And a man cannot become a woman. »

“That said, I also believe that this is what Scripture teaches, which is what I just said. But I also believe that we treat everyone with dignity, and therefore we can do and believe all of these things in same time,” he added. “And I wanted to make that clear to everyone because there are a lot of questions. But this is where I am. I’ve been here my whole life, and these are facts.”

At the House GOP’s weekly press conference earlier Tuesday, Johnson was asked by a reporter: “Is a freshman elected Sarah McBride a man or a woman? »

JOHNSON REFUSES TO SAY WHETHER TRANSGENDER REP IS A MALE OR FEMALE, SAYS HOUSE TREAT EVERYONE WITH “RESPECT”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a news conference alongside other House GOP leaders at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 19, 2024. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“Look, I’m not going to go into detail. We welcome with open arms all new members who are duly elected representatives of the people,” Johnson responded. “I believe it is a commandment that we treat all people with dignity and respect, and we will.”

The issue came after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a resolution Monday seeking to ban members, officers and employees of the House to use “single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex”.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., arrives for a House Republican Caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Asked if the resolution was a response to McBride coming to Congress, Mace said Tuesday: “Yes, and absolutely, and more.”

TRANSGENDER WOMEN WILL BE BANNED FROM CAPITOL HILL WOMEN’S BATHROOMS UNDER NEW HOUSE GOP PROPOSAL

“I’m not going to defend a man, you know, someone with a penis in the women’s locker roomit’s not OK,” Mace said. “I’m a victim of abuse myself. I am a rape survivor. I suffer from PTSD from the abuse I suffered at the hands of a man. And I know how vulnerable women and girls are in private spaces. So, I will absolutely, 100%, stand in the way of any man who wants to be in the women’s bathroom, in our locker room, in our locker room. I will be there to fight you every step of the way. »

Outside the Capitol later Tuesday, Mace said Johnson told him Monday he would add his resolution to the House rules.

Reps.-elect Sarah Elfreth, D-Md., Sarah McBride, D-Del., and Emily Randall, D-Wash., and other freshmen from the 119th Congress gather for a group photo on Nov. 15, 2024 , on the steps of the US Capitol. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“And if that doesn’t come to fruition, I’ll change the bylaws,” Mace said. “And I also have a privilege motion ready to pass if it is not included in the House rules for the 119th Congress. I will force a vote on this item. This is not acceptable. I am a survivor of sexual abuse. The idea of ​​having a man in a restroom, locker room or women’s locker room is disgusting, and I will not allow it. And in fact, I’m not stopping there, I’m introducing legislation. tonight guys can wait I’m holding my breath because of what this is about But I’m not going to allow this, I’m going to make sure every woman and girl across the country is protected from this madness.

“And today I’m receiving death threats from men pretending to be women who are ready to kill me because of my rights and the women’s rights that I’m fighting for,” Mace added. “This is madness. This is absurd. And I’m going to stand up and fight the radical left all day, every day, 365 days a year. Good luck. Come at me, brother.”

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In posts Monday, McBride ridiculed 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 are confronted”.