South Carolina lawmaker Nancy Mace has ignited a heated national debate with her proposal to ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol.
Critics, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have taken aim at Mace’s resolution, framing it as harmful to women and girls. Mace, however, has doubled down on her stance, arguing that the measure is critical to protecting biological women and preserving their privacy and safety.
Speaking on Fox & Friends Weekend, Mace called out her opponents, describing their criticism as “the height of hypocrisy.” She argued that progressive policies touted by Democrats, like Ocasio-Cortez, fail to protect women and instead put them at greater risk.
“It just goes to show [Democrats'] lie. They don’t want to protect women. They never have,” she said, pointing to what she sees as the systematic erasure of biological women’s rights.
Mace, a survivor of rape and sexual abuse, introduced the resolution last week. It would require House members, officers, and employees to use single-sex facilities that align with their biological sex. The legislation, previewed by Fox News Digital, tasks the House sergeant at arms with enforcing the rule.
The timing of the proposal is significant. It arrives as Congress prepares to welcome its first openly transgender member, Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., in January. Critics, like Ocasio-Cortez, argue that Mace’s resolution is not only discriminatory but impractical.
Speaking to reporters, Ocasio-Cortez claimed the measure lacks a clear enforcement plan and could lead to invasive practices. “What it inevitably results in are women and girls primed for assault... because she wants to suspect and point fingers at who she thinks is trans,” she said.
Mace has vehemently denied such allegations, calling them “disgusting” misrepresentations. “No one has ever said that women should drop trow. That’s really disgusting,” she said. She emphasized her resolution as a straightforward protection for women, not an attack on transgender individuals.
The controversy has brought threats and public backlash to Mace. Still, she remains defiant, asserting that the resolution is a necessary step in protecting women’s rights. “It’s sad and surprising that in 2024 I have to go on TV and on social media to explain... that women shouldn’t be forced to undress in front of men,” she told reporters.