Becca Balint

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) set off a firestorm on Capitol Hill with a bill to keep Sarah McBride, soon to be the first transgender member of Congress, from accessing the women's bathrooms at the Capitol.Why it matters: The measure is not being immediately dismissed by Republican leadership, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) telling Axios, "We're going to talk about that. We're working on the issue."House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), asked about the bill, told Axios: "Haven't seen it."But other Democrats expressed fury at the effort: "The cruelty is the point," fumed Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), a co-chair of the Equality Caucus.Driving the news: Mace's two-page resolution, first reported by Fox News, prohibits House members and staffers from "using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex."The measure covers bathrooms in the Capitol and House offices, charging the House sergeant-at-arms with enforcing the prohibition. Mace told reporters on Monday night: "Sarah McBride doesn't get a say in this. If you're a biological man, you shouldn't be in women's restrooms."The other side: "This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing," McBride (D-Del.) said in a statement."We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars," she added.Said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.): "This is not just bigotry, this is just plain bullying.""Is that what we want the sergeant-at-arms to be doing when we had an attack on the freaking Capitol?" exclaimed Balint.Zoom in: Despite Jeffries' demurral, his top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), pushed back hard."I think we have a lot of problems in America, I don't think spending time worrying about the restrooms is an order of priority here. I think Nancy Mace should focus on other things," Morelle said.He added of McBride: "She's a woman. She should use the ladies room."Yes, but: Even some of Mace's moderate Republican colleagues expressed openness to her resolution."I'll need more info," said one.Another told Axios: "I mean — a presidential election may have been decided on this issue."

A large, raucous pro-Palestinian protest Tuesday at a U.S. House office building is spiking lawmakers' concerns about security around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming speech.Why it matters: The protests spilled over from a common area to several individual lawmakers' offices, with one office calling the police on demonstrators.Rep. Dan Kildee's (D-Mich.) office "had to call U.S. Capitol Police for assistance" after "hundreds of protesters outside the office became disruptive," Kildee's chief of staff Mitchell Rivard said in a statement.Rivard said protesters were "violently beating on the office doors, shouting loudly, and attempting to force entry into the office."Spokespeople for Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow, the groups that organized the protest, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.State of play: The protest, in which hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in the Cannon House Office Building, prompted Capitol Police to make scores of arrests for demonstrating in a restricted area.It may just be a taste of what's to come when Netanyahu arrives on Wednesday. The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights has said "tens of thousands" of people will gather at the Capitol.Capitol security officials and law enforcement are already taking precautions, erecting a fence, restricting entrances to the complex and encouraging staffers to move through the building's tunnel system.House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday that additional police officers will be posted outside the Capitol and inside the House chamber.What they're saying: Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) told Axios that protesters were camped outside his office, prompting the Capitol Police to instruct his staff to remain inside."It crosses the line ... when it makes it impossible for people within the Capitol – not just people who work here but others who are visiting their representatives – to even get around," Schneider said.Kildee told Axios the protest is escalating safety concerns for Wednesday, saying "obviously, we're going to take extra precautions going forward.""I'm concerned about my safety," said Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who told Axios he isn't wearing his member pin because "I don't want to be a target."What to watch: Some Democrats have told Axios that, in addition to sitting out the speech, they may avoid Capitol Hill altogether tomorrow afternoon to avoid the protests.Democrats got a briefing on security around the speech during their closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday morning, according to multiple lawmakers present.The other side: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who said she may leave Capitol Hill after votes on Wednesday out of concern for her personal safety, defended the protest on Tuesday.JVP and IfNotNow "have a history of powerful, peaceful, non-violent protests at the Capitol, and I think that their actions are inspiring," she told Axios.The bottom line: "I think the new normal is that everyone is always concerned about safety since January 6," said Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.).Go deeper: Democrats' chaos makes Netanyahu speech an "afterthought"

Some LGBTQ people shared their support of Kamala Harris memes and videos. And there was no shortage of campy and queer-coded posts referring to her as “mother.”

A number of Democratic lawmakers, governors and past leaders were quick to rally behind Vice President Harris as she pursues the Democratic Party's presidential nomination following President Biden's withdrawal from the race. Shortly after dropping out of the presidential race, Biden endorsed Harris as his successor, stating it is "time to come together and beat" [...]