Speaker Johnson makes clarification after statement regarding transgender House member

House Speaker Mike Johnson made a clarification connected Tuesday aft antecedently declining to reply a reporter's question connected whether transgender Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., is simply a antheral oregon a woman. 

"I conscionable privation to marque a connection for each of you present and beryllium precise clear: I was asked a question this morning astatine the enactment gaggle, and I rejected the premise due to the fact that the reply is truthful obvious," Johnson told reporters successful the Capitol Tuesday afternoon. "For anybody who doesn’t cognize my well-established grounds connected this issue, fto maine beryllium unequivocally clear: A antheral is simply a man, and a pistillate is simply a woman. And a antheral cannot go a woman." 

"That said, I besides judge that’s what Scripture teaches, what I conscionable said. But I besides judge that we dainty everybody with dignity, and truthful we tin bash and judge each those things astatine the aforesaid time," helium added. "And I wanted to marque that wide for everybody due to the fact that determination are tons of questions. But that’s wherever I stand. I’ve stood determination my full life, and those are facts." 

At the House GOP play property league earlier Tuesday, a newsman had asked Johnson, "Is freshman elite Sarah McBride a antheral oregon a woman?" 

JOHNSON DECLINES TO SAY IF TRANSGENDER REP-ELECT IS MAN OR WOMAN, SAYS HOUSE TO TREAT EVERYONE WITH 'RESPECT'
 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a property league alongside different House GOP enactment astatine the U.S. Capitol connected Nov. 19, 2024.  (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"Look, I'm not going to get into this. We invited each caller members with unfastened arms who are duly elected representatives of the people," Johnson responded. "I judge it's a … bid that we dainty each persons with dignity and respect, and we will."

The question came aft Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a solution connected Monday that moves to prohibit members, officers and

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., arrives for a House Republican caucus gathering astatine the U.S. Capitol connected Nov. 19, 2024 successful Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Asked if the solution was successful effect to McBride coming to Congress, Mace said Tuesday, "Yes, and absolutely, and past some." 

TRANSGENDER WOMEN TO BE BANNED FROM CAPITOL HILL FEMALE BATHROOMS UNDER NEW HOUSE GOP PROPOSAL

"I'm not going to basal for a man, you know, idiosyncratic with a penis successful the woman's locker room, that's not OK," Mace said. "I'm a unfortunate of maltreatment myself. I'm a rape survivor. I person PTSD from the maltreatment I suffered astatine the hands of a man. And I cognize however susceptible women and girls are successful backstage spaces. So I'm absolutely, 100% going to basal successful the mode of immoderate antheral who wants to beryllium successful a woman's restroom, successful our locker rooms, successful our changing rooms. I volition beryllium determination warring you each measurement of the way." 

Outside the Capitol aboriginal Tuesday, Mace said Johnson told her connected Monday that helium would adhd her solution to the House rules package. 

Reps.-elect Sarah Elfreth, D-Md., Sarah McBride, D-Del.,, and Emily Randall, D-Wash., and different legislature freshmen of the 119th Congress stitchery for a radical photograph connected Nov. 15, 2024, connected the steps of the U.S. Capitol.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"And if it doesn't extremity up there, I volition amend the location rules package," Mace said. "And I besides person a privilege question acceptable to spell if it's not successful the House rules bundle for 119th Congress. I volition unit a ballot connected this. This is not okay. I'm a subsister of intersexual abuse. The thought of having a antheral successful a women's restroom, locker room, oregon changing country is repulsive, and I volition not let it. And successful fact, I'm not stopping here. This doesn't extremity with Capitol Hill. I'm filing authorities tonight. You guys tin hold with bated enactment for what that's about. But I americium not going to let this. I'm going to guarantee that each pistillate and miss crossed the state is protected from this insanity." 

"And contiguous I'm receiving decease threats from men pretending to beryllium women who are consenting to termination maine implicit my close and women's rights that I'm warring for," Mace added. "It's insanity. It's nonsense. And I'm going to basal up and combat backmost against the extremist near each time long, each day, 365 days a year. Good luck. Come astatine me, bro." 

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In X posts connected Monday, McBride had derided the solution arsenic "a blatant effort from acold right-wing extremists to distract from the information that they person nary existent solutions to what Americans are facing."