Emboldened by Donald Trump’s blatantly anti-trans, Islamophobic and racist campaign to successfully secure a second term in the White House and a Republican trifecta, GOPers have been using their time ahead of the 119th Congress to launch new and unprecedented attacks against their will-be colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
Randy Fine, a Trump-backed Florida Republican running to fill the soon-to-be-vacant seat of Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) — who Trump tapped to be his national security adviser — posted a seemingly threatening message on the social media platform X on Monday. In it, he said that Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) should consider leaving the House of Representatives before he gets there, if he wins the special election in January.
“The Hebrew Hammer is coming,” Fine, who is Jewish, said in a post on X. “[Rashida Tlaib] and [Ilhan Omar] might consider leaving before I get there. #BombsAway”
The “Hebrew Hammer” is coming. @RashidaTlaib and @IlhanMN might consider leaving before I get there. #BombsAway https://t.co/0aCRVf39h7
— Senator Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) November 26, 2024
Fine is a staunch supporter of Israel and his veiled threat against Tlaib and Omar is seemingly due to their Muslim faith or their vocal support for the Palestinian people. They have both repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the conflict and have criticized the number of casualties.
And it’s not just anti-Islam rhetoric coming from potential members of the Republican conference. Existing members have used the remaining weeks of the lame duck Congress to up their attacks on incoming Democrats, as well.
Last week, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a resolution to ban transgender women from women’s restrooms at the Capitol building — just two weeks after the first openly transgender person was elected to Congress.
When asked directly if her resolution was in response to Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE) joining the upcoming Congress, Mace said, “absolutely, a hundred percent.”
But Mace’s performative outrage did not stop at introducing the resolution. Over the course of 72 hours last week, Mace posted about trans women and bathrooms more than 325 times on X.
She went as far as to post a video of herself taping a piece of paper that reads “BIOLOGICAL” on top of a women’s bathroom sign in the Capitol complex.
“I never thought we would need a sign for this, but women’s restrooms are for BIOLOGICAL women. Not men,” Mace captioned the video.
I never thought we would need a sign for this, but women’s restrooms are for BIOLOGICAL women. Not men. pic.twitter.com/42lOMhqHFT
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) November 19, 2024
It’s all quite hypocritical, of course. As recently as last year, Mace called herself “pro-transgender rights” and said she supported children exploring gender identities with different hairstyles, clothing and preferred pronouns, according to CNN.
And in 2021, Mace said “I strongly support LGBTQ rights and equality. No one should be discriminated against,” in a Washington Examinder interview.
Meanwhile, MAGA loyalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also took to social media to suggest that trans women who use women’s bathrooms “should be thrown in prison.”
As MAGA House Republicans’ shameless othering of the will-be first ever openly trans member of Congress was at its peak, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) came out in support of Mace, announcing in a press release that trans women will not be allowed to use the women’s restrooms and locker rooms on the House side of the Capitol complex.
“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Johnson said, disregarding the fact that there is no single occupancy restroom in the actual U.S. Capitol building where lawmakers and staff often spend hours voting or in meetings.