(19 Nov 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
US NETWORK POOL
Washington, DC – 19 November 2024
1. House Speaker Mike Johnson at press conference taking reporter question
2. UPSOUND (English) Reporter question:
"Is freshman-elect Sarah McBride a man or a woman?"
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House:
"Hmm, um, look, I’m not going to get into this. We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people. I believe it’s a, it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will. And I’m not going to engage in silly debates about this. There’s a concern about the uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before. We’re going to do that in a deliberate fashion with member consensus on it, and we will accommodate the needs of every single person. That’s all I want to say about that.
(Reporter: Do you plan on bringing Nancy Mace’s (South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace) transgender bill and putting that into the rules package?)
I’m not going to address the plans on any of that. I just told you what I’m going to say about the issue. I’m not going to engage in this. We don’t look down upon anyone. We treat everybody with dignity and respect. That’s a principle that I’ve pursued my whole life and we will take care of this. You know, issue a first impression for Congress, as we will any other thing. Will provide appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress."
4. Johnson walks up to microphones in U.S. Capitol Statuary Hall
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House:
++AUDIO AS INCOMING++
"Hello, everybody. I just want to make a statement for all of you here and be very clear. I was asked a question this morning at the leadership gaggle and I rejected the premise because the answer is is so obvious. For anybody who doesn’t know my well-established record on this issue, let me be unequivocally clear. A man is a man and a woman is a woman and a man cannot become a woman. That said, I also believe – that’s what Scripture teaches, what I just said – but I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity. And so we can do and believe all those things at the same time. And I wanted to make that clear for everybody because there’s lots of questions, But that’s where I stand. I’ve stood there my whole life, and those are facts."
6. Johnson walks away
STORYLINE:
House Speaker Mike Johnson sought to clarify his stance on transgender bathrooms Tuesday amid a Republican bill aimed at banning the first trans person to be elected to Congress from using women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill next year.
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace introduced legislation Monday that would prohibit “members, officers, and employees of the House from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex" in the U.S. Capitol and House buildings.
Mace told reporters she was "absolutely" targeting Delaware Rep.-elect Sarah McBride with the measure, a Democrat, who will be sworn into the House of Representatives in January.
Asked about the bill at a press conference Tuesday morning, Speaker Johnson didn’t directly answer, saying only, "it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will."
"We will accommodate the needs of every single person. That’s all I want to say about that," Johnson added.
That response triggered Johnson to return to the press a short while later in an attempt to clarify his remarks.
The Speaker would not tell reporters where he stands on the measure.
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