Wednesday, November 20, 2024

And So It Begins!

We saw it out in Montana when House Republicans voted to censured Rep. Zephyr and now the Republicans are focusing on the first trans person in Congress it got them in their craw.
House Republican introduces measure to ban transgender women from female bathrooms in Capitol
Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina introduced the resolution as Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., is set to become the first out transgender member of Congress.
NBC News
By Kyle Stewart and Raquel Coronell Uribe
November 19, 2024


Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a resolution Monday that would ban transgender women from using female bathrooms in the Capitol just weeks before Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride of Delaware is set to become the first out transgender member of Congress.

The measure would prohibit any lawmakers and House employees from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.”

Asked by reporters whether her resolution was meant to target a marginalized person, Mace said, “Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say in this.”
Representative McBride responded…
McBride, who won the race for Delaware’s lone House seat this month, slammed the measure Monday.

“This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars,” she said in a statement.
The Pink News has more of what she said,
”The sanctity of protecting women and standing up against the left’s systematic erasure of biological women starts here in the nation’s Capitol,” Mace wrote.

[…]

McBride, who will become the first trans member of congress when she takes office in January, added: “Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Her words echo what she said, after her victory at the polls, about Donald Trump’s anti-trans ads, which reportedly cost Republicans almost $215 million (£169 million).

“Those ads were part of a long-term strategy by the far-right-wing in this country, which is to pick [on] a small and vulnerable misunderstood community to fear-monger and scapegoat around, in order to distract and divide from the fact that those politicians have absolutely no policy solutions for the issues that are actually keeping people up at night.”
And…
 On one side of the Capitol, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace vowed to “stand in the way” of Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, the first out transgender woman elected to Congress, using women’s bathrooms in the US Capitol.

Across the building, McBride was privately counseling her Democratic colleagues how to balance both pushing back on dehumanizing rhetoric while also staying on message. McBride, who came up through the Delaware legislature, assured Democrats that she has faced similar attacks before and was not going to let this define her.

“This is not her first rodeo,” Democratic Rep. Becca Balint said of McBride. “I’m so impressed by the way Rep. McBride is really helping us navigate this. Because she said, ‘If we let them, this entire Congress, all we’ll talk about is bathrooms.’”

[…]

But Republicans discussing the issue privately say that any steps Johnson takes would be difficult to enforce. Although Mace’s resolution is in response to McBride coming to Congress, there are many transgender people who work and visit the Capitol.

“Those of us who want to be reasonable about things are having trouble with how you legislate this,” one GOP lawmaker told CNN.
Lastly FOX News wrote,
Johnson declines to say if transgender rep-elect is man or woman, says House to treat everyone with 'respect'
House Speaker Mike Johnson declines to say whether Rep-elect McBride is a man or a woman after Nancy Mace's transgender resolution
By Danielle Wallace
November 19, 2024


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

At the House GOP weekly press conference on Tuesday, a reporter asked Johnson, "Is freshman elect Sarah McBride a man or a woman?"

"Look, I'm not going to get into this. We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people," Johnson responded. "I believe it's a… command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will. And I'm not going to engage in… silly debates about this. There's a concern about uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before. And we're going to do that in a deliberate fashion, with member consensus on it. And we will accommodate the needs of every single person."
The Speaker was right in saying, “...We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people…” and “we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will.” We shall see!

The people of the state of Delaware elected her… respect their decision!

My prediction… The Republicans will use male pronouns when addressing Rep. McBride.


Between when I wrote this in the morning and now... there has been developments!


House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday he is banning transgender individuals from accessing bathrooms on the House side of the Capitol complex that correspond to their gender identity.

Why it matters: The move comes in response to an effort by GOP firebrands to restrict Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), who is set to be the first transgender member of Congress, from using women's restrooms.

What he's saying: "All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings (like restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms) are reserved only for individuals of that biological sex," Johnson said in a statement.

Johnson told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday: "Like all policies, it's enforceable. We have single-sex facilities for a reason. Women deserve women's only spaces."
"We're not anti-anyone. We're pro-woman. I think it's an important policy for us to continue. It's always been, I guess, an unwritten policy, but now it's in writing," he added.
I guess that “we treat all persons with dignity and respect" didn't last long!

Forbes reported...
After Forbes spoke with Mace, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a new rule that would prohibit McBride from using women’s restrooms in the U.S. Capitol. “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 wrote in a statement.
However, indecent behavior is okay by its members as long as it is by a Republican.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s announcement that he will nominate Matt Gaetz to be attorney general has resurrected questions about Justice Department and House ethics investigations into Mr. Gaetz’s conduct and whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl who was being paid for her services.
The House Ethics Committee revealed in an unusual statement on Tuesday the status of its investigation of GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida on allegations ranging from sexual misconduct, drug use and obstruction.

So that behavior is okay! But being trans had to shutdown the House so they ban one of their elected members from using the bathroom!

The Hill reported that the Republicans might not release the investigation on Rep. Gaetz just like the Republicans covered sexual allegations on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh!
On one side, Democrats on the committee — and several Republicans in Congress — say the report contains information that the public and senators should know as they consider whether to make Gaetz the head of an agency that once investigated him.

On the other end is Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who is arguing that releasing the report — which is the culmination of a roughly three-year investigation — could damage the House since the panel would be in the rare, but not unprecedented, situation of publishing information on a former member.
Now we have the feigned indignation Rep. McBride!


Update: 3:30PM


Update 4:00PM
The Hill
by Brooke Migdon
November 20, 2024 @ 3:05 PM ET


Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), set to be the nation’s first openly transgender member of Congress when she takes office in January, said she will comply with a policy instituted Wednesday by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) barring transgender people from single-sex facilities that match their gender identity in the Capitol and House office buildings. 

“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down the costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them,” McBride said Wednesday in a statement posted to the social platform X. 

“This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January,” she said. “Serving in the 119th Congress will be the honor of a lifetime — and I continue to look forward to getting to know my future colleagues on both sides of the aisle.”
Bravo! Sarah bravo! She took the high ground not wallow in the mud.
“Each of us were sent here because voters saw something in us that they value,” McBride continued. “I have loved getting to see those qualities in the future colleagues that I’ve met and I look forward to seeing those qualities in every member come January. I hope all my colleagues will seek to do the same with me.”
She is showing the voters how petty the Republicans can be. In another Pink News article,
A Democratic congresswoman has spoken out against Republican Nancy Mace’s efforts to ban transgender women from female toilets in the US Capitol – aimed directly at Democratic congresswoman Sarah McBride.

[...]

Now, McBride’s fellow Democratic congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, the US representative for Texas’s 30th congressional district, has also spoken out forcefully against the anti-trans move.

Writing on X/Twitter on November 19, she said: “If @HouseGOP really wanted to protect women, they’d release the Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz’ alleged sex trafficking – not try to ban their colleagues from using the bathroom. Stop the bigotry and release the report.”
The Republicans are so transparent.


Update: 11/21 @ 5:00AM

It seems that one of the qualifications of the new Trump administration is to have a sexual assault on your record...
CNN
By Casey Tolan, Scott Glover and Sara Murray
November 21, 2024


A California woman told police that Trump Cabinet pick Pete Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone, and then sexually assaulted her even though she “remembered saying ‘no’ a lot,” a police report obtained by CNN shows.

The 22-page report, released by the city attorney’s office of Monterey, California, on Wednesday night in response to a public records request, lays out the competing narratives of what happened in new detail – including conflicting accounts of how intoxicated Hegseth and the woman were, and descriptions of video surveillance showing some of their movements that night.

Hegseth, who President-elect Donald Trump has named as his pick for secretary of defense, told police that their encounter was consensual, and that he had repeatedly made sure the woman “was comfortable with what was going on between the two of them.”
Of course he denies all of it! But...
Hegseth was not charged with a crime in connection with the allegation. His attorney has acknowledged that Hegseth later entered into a settlement agreement with his accuser that included an undisclosed monetary payment and a confidentiality clause. Though Hegseth insisted the encounter was consensual, the lawyer said he was fearful that the woman was poised to make an allegation against him during the #MeToo movement that might have cost him his job as a Fox News host.
It seems like having a sexual assault allegations is a badge of honor in the Trump administration! 


Update: 11/29 @ 3:30PM

I found two videos about her,

And this one from October...



Another update 12/2

Many are angry that she chose to comply with the Mike Johnson's anti-trans rule, but she's too smart to fall for the GOP's tricks.
LGBTQ Nation
Commentary by Mark Segal
December 1, 2024


Many in our community have been quick to criticize Congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE), accusing her of capitulating to a new Congressional bathroom rule introduced by Republicans.

This rule, which affects only one member of Congress — McBride, its first transgender member — mandates that members must use the bathroom corresponding to their biological sex at birth. To make matters worse, the rule purportedly extends to all bathrooms in the Capitol.
And now we learn it extends to all federal buildings!
However, what many failed to realize was that Mace’s rule was a calculated trap — and McBride refused to fall for it. So when Mace’s baited efforts began to backfire and many labeled her a bigot, she escalated the rhetoric, like when someone screams to be heard even though they have nothing useful to say.

The transgender community needs a champion in Congress — someone visible and eloquent who can speak effectively on trans issues. McBride is poised to become that figure, not just in Congress but on the national stage. Mace’s rule was an attempt to silence her. Had McBride defied the rule, she risked being accused of breaking Congressional regulations and facing sanctions. These sanctions could include censure, which could prevent her from speaking on the House floor. That was the trap that McBride was too smart to fall for.

This game Republicans are playing with our community needs to stop, and the only way to stop it is for us to learn the rules, play strategically, and fight back. I’m betting on McBride, and this week, she proven she’s not only ready for the fight but also ready to be highly visible. As she eloquently said in her response to the rule, “This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January.”

This kind vindicates what I have been saying here... she knows what she is doing and now it is up to us to fight the outside game. 

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