Transgender Rep.-elect Sarah McBride calls GOP attacks 'an attempt to distract' from the issues

Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first openly transgender person elected to serve in Congress, on Sunday called House Republicans’ moves to ban her from using women’s bathrooms in the Capitol “mean-spirited” and an “attempt to misdirect” from other policy priorities.

“I think we are all united that attempts to attack a vulnerable community are not only mean-spirited, but really an attempt to misdirect,” McBride told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” “Every single time we hear the incoming administration or Republicans in Congress talk about any vulnerable group in this country, we have to be clear that it is an attempt to distract.”

She added, “It is an attempt to distract from what they are actually doing. Every single time, every single time we hear them say the word ‘trans,’ look what they’re doing with their right hand. Look at what they’re doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatizing Social Security and Medicare,” McBride added.

In a separate interview Sunday, she also characterized the ongoing Republican moves to restrict where she can use the bathroom on Capitol Hill “a lot of noise.”

“Over the last two years, over the last two weeks, there’s certainly been a lot of noise around me, but I’ve remained focused,” McBride told MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”

She added that she didn’t run for her seat, where she’ll begin serving as a first-term congresswoman in January, to make waves.

“I didn’t run to be a first. I didn’t run to make history. I ran to serve this state that I love and to deliver for Delawareans,” McBride said.

Her comments come as Republicans have ramped up attacks against her in the last two weeks, with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., sponsoring a resolution that would prohibit House members and staff from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.”

Shortly after introducing the resolution, Mace made clear that the measure was “absolutely” targeting McBride.

On Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., joined Mace, saying in a statement, “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.”

On Sunday, Mace doubled down on her anti-trans rhetoric, telling Fox News, “So many women now today feel more brave and have more courage because I’ve been speaking out. They feel like they’re going to be supported.”

In the wake of Mace and Johnson’s statements, Democrats in both chambers of Congress have backed McBride, condemning Republicans for targeting her.

On Sunday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., blasted Mace as “disgusting and wrong,” telling CNN: “We have issues here in this country, and yet she’s worried about one member of Congress using the bathroom. Number one, I think her position is disgusting and wrong, but I also think that we have a lot more to worry about than where somebody goes to pee.”

During Thursday’s White House press briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that President Joe Biden is “very proud of” McBride and added: “What [McBride] said is, ‘I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families.’ And we agree with her.”

And on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused House Republicans of “bullying” McBride.

“This incoming small House Republican Conference majority is beginning to transition to the new Congress by bullying a member of Congress,” Jeffries told reporters.

He added: “This is what we’re doing? This is the lesson that you’ve drawn from the election in November? This is your priority, that you want to bully a member of Congress, as opposed to welcoming her to join this body so all of us can work together to get things done and deliver real results for the American people.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com