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(The Philadelphia Inquirer) Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) has offered his office’s bathroom to Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride, elected this month as the first openly transgender member of Congress, as House Republicans prepare to block her from using the women’s restrooms at the Capitol.
McBride said Wednesday that she will follow the rules though she disagrees with them.
“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms,” McBride said. “I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families.”
Fetterman’s offer comes as the incoming Delaware lawmaker faces attacks from Republican lawmakers, including a bill from U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R., S.C.) that would restrict lawmakers from using single-sex facilities “other than those corresponding to their biological sex,” which was clearly aimed at McBride.
“There’s no job I’m afraid to lose if it requires me to degrade anyone,” Fetterman said in a post on X Wednesday. “If that’s a defining issue for a voter, there will be a different candidate. We have a bathroom in my office that anybody is welcome to use, including Representative-elect Sarah McBride.”
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Fetterman has routinely touted himself as a staunch defender of transgender rights. His post came the same day that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) announced — on Transgender Day of Remembrance — that transgender individuals are not permitted to use Capitol bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
In a statement on X Wednesday, McBride said she hopes her future House colleagues can appreciate the reasons she was elected to this new position.
“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,” McBride said. “I hope all of my colleagues will seek to do the same with me.”
The GOP lawmakers’ targeting of McBride follows President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign that heavily focused on transgender people. Advertisements that routinely aired in Pennsylvania targeting Vice President Kamala Harris’ stance on transgender rights have been credited — including by Fetterman— for potentially contributing to Trump’s victory.
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