Sarah McBride Isn’t Backing Down: Congress’s First Trans Member Takes Aim at Anti-Trans Rhetoric

When Sarah McBride strode onto the House floor this year, she didn’t just make history—she brought the hopes, anxieties, and refusal-to-be-silenced spirit of millions with her. As the first openly transgender member of Congress, McBride has become both a symbol and a shield for a community facing an onslaught of legislative and rhetorical attacks. But if anyone expected her to shrink from the fight, they haven’t met the real Sarah McBride.

On November 18, McBride—flanked by 211 Democratic colleagues—sent a thunderous message to Speaker Mike Johnson: enough is enough. Their open letter called out not just the “rising number of legislative and administrative attacks” but also the dehumanizing language from the lips of elected officials. “We have heard calls by members of Congress to institutionalise all transgender people, comments referring to transgender people as mentally ill, and false suggestions by high-level political figures that transgender people are inherently violent and must be addressed as a national security threat, ” the letter declared, refusing to let such slurs pass as mere political posturing .

But what does this moment mean—not just for politics, but for queer life in a country where the stakes have never felt higher?

Transgender Americans are no strangers to the sting of ugly words, but when those words come from the nation’s highest hallways of power, the impact ripples far beyond the chamber doors. “That language… is taking a real toll, ” McBride and her colleagues wrote, alluding to the everyday realities that rarely make headlines: hate crimes, family separations, lost jobs, and the quiet terror that comes from living under a government openly questioning your right to exist .

Federal records show a chilling 463 hate-crime incidents motivated by gender identity bias last year alone, underscoring the deadly consequences of rhetoric unchecked . Meanwhile, the Trans Legislation Tracker reports a record-breaking fifth consecutive year for anti-trans bills, with over 1, 000 such measures introduced in 2024—88 at the federal level. While many fail, each attempt chips away at the sense of safety and belonging for trans people everywhere .

Yet through it all, McBride insists on a message that’s both simple and radical: “Transgender people are part of every community. They are veterans, teachers and doctors. They are parents, children and siblings. They are neighbours and friends. They are Democrats, Republicans and independents. .. Attacks on the transgender community are attacks on every community. Transgender people deserve government officials who will lift them up, not attack them simply because of who they are” .

For McBride, the fight isn’t just about surviving the storm—it’s about changing the weather. She’s been vocal about the need for the LGBTQ+ movement to reclaim the narrative. “We can’t continue to fight every fight on the Republicans’ terms and turf. That’s true for me as a member of Congress, it’s true for me as a Democrat, and it’s true for me as a trans person, ” she told The 19th, urging activists to resist being boxed in by opponents’ talking points .

Behind closed doors, McBride’s approach is nuanced. Despite public attacks by some conservatives, she’s found that most colleagues treat her with respect—even if they won’t always vote for LGBTQ+ rights. “Meeting people where they are is not selling out. It’s what this work is, ” she explained, making clear that progress comes not from shouting matches but from forging unexpected alliances .

Her strategy? Connect the dots between the anti-trans agenda and broader efforts to undermine American institutions. “We have to pull back the curtain on the fact that they are using trans people as pawns in their broader effort to gut the federal government in order to line the pockets of Donald Trump’s best friends, all at the expense of working people, ” she told a recent crowd, refusing to let trans existence be reduced to a wedge issue .

McBride’s journey isn’t just a political odyssey; it’s a masterclass in resilience. When House Speaker Mike Johnson enforced a rule barring her from using women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill, the backlash wasn’t just from the right. Some trans Americans criticized her for complying instead of protesting. But McBride is clear-eyed about her tactic: “I refuse to be used as a pawn. I refuse to give them that power, and I refuse to let them get away with it, ” she said publicly, underscoring the emotional labor expected of those who break barriers .

Even as the new administration has rolled back protections—removing evidence of trans people from government websites, denying passports, and banning gender-affirming care for young people in some states—McBride keeps her focus on connection, not just confrontation. “Not only does it take the wind out of the sails of those who want to attack and foster conflict and politicize people’s very existence, but… it can serve to open hearts and change minds and help to combat the disinformation, the misinformation and the caricatures that have been fomented by the far right, ” she said at the HRC Greater New York event .

What resonates most about McBride’s leadership is how she centers the full humanity—and joy—of trans people, even in the darkest moments. The onslaught of anti-trans bills and rhetoric isn’t just a policy battle; it’s a fight over who gets to claim public space, who gets to dream, and who gets to belong.

For many in the LGBTQ+ community, McBride’s unapologetic presence in Congress is a reminder that visibility itself is a form of defiance. Each time she speaks, walks the halls, or refuses to be defined by someone else’s narrative, she reclaims a little more space for all of us. It’s not just about policy; it’s about telling the world: we are here, we have always been here, and we are not going anywhere.

In the words of the open letter: “Transgender people deserve government officials who will lift them up, not attack them simply because of who they are” . And in McBride, the community has found both a fighter and a lifter.

The battle over anti-trans rhetoric in Congress is far from over, but McBride’s leadership signals a shift: from defense to offense, from silence to solidarity, from marginalization to mainstream. For every trans person watching—whether out and proud, quietly questioning, or still finding their voice—her message is clear: “Attacks on the transgender community are attacks on every community. And we will not be erased” .

The arc of queer history is long, but with leaders like McBride, it bends toward justice—and just maybe, a little more joy.