Democrats Shift Their Response to Republicans’ Anti-Trans Effort After Talking to Sarah McBride

Sources say McBride told members that GOP missives are just a “distraction” and to treat them as such.

AP 	24324705654942 Sarah McBride
In the midst of the news cycle, McBride said that she had attended an event with her constituents. Mark Schiefelbein/AP

House Democrats are brushing off Republican attacks on Rep.-elect Sarah McBride after some GOP members made clear they would attempt to keep McBride from using the women’s restrooms in the Capitol.

That’s because McBride, who will become the first openly transgender member of Congress, told them to.

After GOP Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution on Monday night to ban trans people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity, specifically as a way to target McBride, some Democrats seemed flat-footed when asked how they would respond to it. Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Mary Gay Scanlon, Angie Craig, Ted Lieu and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries either refused to answer questions about the resolution or said they wanted to see the text before responding.