The soulless slugs occupying the far right of the United States government are no longer hiding their bigotry and phobia of their fellow humans beneath honeyed words or red-herring propositions.
With Donald Trump headed to the White House alongside a heartbreaking congressional majority, Republicans are headed into an era of nearly unbridled power, and they’re feeling bold. Even the typically spineless Mike Johnson — Speaker of the House of Representatives — is shedding the illusion of humanity to better embrace the Trump agenda.
Johnson is reportedly in full support of House member Nancy Mace’s bill, which would prohibit members of Congress from using a bathroom “other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” He said as much in a Nov. 20 statement, in which he voiced support for restricting “single-sex facilities” like bathrooms throughout the Capitol to “individuals of that biological sex.” In shorter terms, that means that Johnson aims to join Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene in their campaign against the first-ever transgender member of Congress, Sarah McBride.
Mace is in no way shy about the targeted nature of the bill, which she gleefully embraces as a direct attack against McBride. If the bill were passed, it would require McBride — a woman — to use the men’s bathroom, or to utilize the Capitol’s unisex bathrooms. But this issue is far less about the actual act of using the bathroom, and far more about the attempts to dehumanize McBride — and by extension all trans people — just because Greene, Mace, and Johnson can’t wrap their brains around someone different from them.
This bill would be disgusting regardless, but it’s particularly pathetic given how clearly targeted it is. It’s straight-up bullying at this point, and it’s a bad look on a bunch of full-grown adults who expect us to respect them. They think that by acting inhumane and cruel they’ll gain approval from the mean-spirited MAGA base, and, heartbreaking as it may be, they’re probably right.
All because these people don’t have a single empathetic bone in their bodies. If they did, they’d take one second to consider how familiar their behavior is. They’re acting exactly like a long-ago horde of bigots, but this group wore exclusively white and had a tendency to light fires on people’s lawns. They’re approaching their bigotry in the same way — by hiding it behind a veil of legality and claiming to “protect” other groups — and it’s stomach-turning to watch them gloat in a decision that perfectly aligns them with toddler tyrant Trump.
McBride has yet to comment on the move, but it sounds like she’ll face a disgusting policy when she takes office in January. Johnson said, in his statement, that “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex.” He added that “each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”
That once again redirects the conversation in an attempt to make it about bathrooms instead of people. Yes, McBride will likely have plenty of bathroom options at the Capitol, but it’s not about that. It’s about a group that’s petty enough to introduce an entire bill just to torment another person, even though her bathroom decisions won’t affect them one bit. It’s trying to boil McBride down to a single biological detail, and it’s small-minded, petty, and disgusting.
Johnson’s support of the bill doesn’t necessarily mean it will be enacted, but it does expose him as one of the most shame-secreting troglodytes in Congress. He’s weak, he’s bitter, and he’s manipulated like a ball of clay in Trump’s hands. What a legacy to leave behind.
