Speaker Mike Johnson maintains House transgender bathroom ban
Speaker Mike Johnson maintained a policy that will bar transgender people from using single-sex facilities that align with their gender identities in the House.
Transgender people will not be permitted to use single-sex bathrooms that align with their gender identities near the House Chamber, under a policy from Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., that was renewed Friday.
The ban was included in a list of Johnson’s policies for the 119th Congress, which were reflected in the Congressional Record, a daily account of Congress’ proceedings. The policy was not officially included in the House rules package that passed Friday during the House’s first session.
The policy states that “all single-sex facilities—such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms—are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” according to the record of Friday’s proceedings.
The policy will be enforced by the sergeant-at-arms and applies to “all areas of the Capitol subject to the Speaker’s general control under clause 3 of rule I,” according to the Congressional Record. That includes the hall of the House, the corridors and passages in the part of the Capitol assigned to the House, and other unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol, according to the House rules.
“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Friday’s Congressional Record states.
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