Sarah McBride Convinced Four Republicans to Defect on Trans Bill

Representative Sarah McBride—the first out transgender member of Congress—had to lobby Republicans to strike down an anti-trans bill because she knew her Democratic colleagues would abandon her.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted 216–211 to pass MAGA Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s legislation to criminalize gender-affirming care like puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgical care for patients under 18, subjecting medical providers to up to 10 years in prison. The legislation would also give parents criminal liability. Three Democrats—Texas Representatives Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, along with North Carolina Representative Don Davis—were expected to vote with Republicans on the bill (and did). So McBride reached out to her right.

“We’re most interested in the caucus, right?” Democratic Representative Becca Balint, co-chair of the Equality Caucus, told NOTUS. “But we also suspected we might lose some Democrats, which is why Sarah was like, ‘Look, I’ll pick up votes wherever I can.’ She will talk to anyone.”

Republican Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler, Mike Kennedy, and Gabe Evans all voted with McBride and the rest of the Democratic Party against the bill.

While McBride did not detail her discussions with these representatives, this surprising moment of bipartisanship displays the rifts and inconsistencies within both parties on the issues of transgender rights and particularly gender-affirming care.