Rep. Sarah McBride on picking her battles and not taking the ‘bait’
Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first openly transgender member of Congress, said she remains focused on her job and refuses to give Republicans what they want, which she said is for her to take the “bait” over a policy that bars her from women’s restrooms in the House.
Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first openly transgender member of Congress, said she remains focused on her job and refuses to give Republicans what they want, which she said is for her to take the “bait” over a policy that bars her from women’s restrooms in the House.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., informally enacted the policy in November and renewed it earlier this month when Congress began its new session. The policy was initially proposed in November by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who said it was a direct response to the election of McBride.
McBride said in a statement at the time that she would respect the policy and wouldn’t let it distract her from what she was there to do: serve her constituents. Some trans people criticized McBride’s response, arguing that she should have resisted or protested more, particularly as the incoming administration and Republicans in Congress have made targeting trans people a priority. Some people said she wasn’t standing up for herself, and, as a result, she wasn’t standing up for trans people.
In an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, McBride said she understands why some people feel that way, but that the bathroom policy wasn’t really about banning people from restrooms in the Capitol Complex.
“The point of this bathroom ban was to bait me into a fight, was to diminish my capacity to be an effective member of Congress by turning me into a caricature,” she said. “I refuse to give them that opportunity or that response that they seek. That is what they want. There is power in not giving people what they want.”
Rating: 5