Newsmax v. USA Today: Speaker Mike Johnson announces transgender bathroom ban in Capitol

In this post, I will be looking at the differences between Newsmax and USA Today in their coverage of Mike Johnson's announcement of a transgender bathroom ban in the Capitol. 

 Newsmax: "Speaker Brings Transgender Bathroom Ban to House"

• On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, announced a new policy that will prevent transgender women from using women's bathrooms on the House side of Capitol Hill.
• Prior to this, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a bill banning transgender women from using Capitol bathrooms designated for women. 
• This came after Sarah McBride became the first transgender person elected to Congress earlier this month. 
• In his statement, Johnson wrote: "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. It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. Women deserve women's only spaces."
• Johnson told reporters that this policy is enforceable. 
• On Wednesday, Democrat lawmakers introduced a resolution that would mark Transgender Day of Remembrance. 
• McBride criticized Mace's introduction of the bathroom bill as a distraction.
• McBride said: "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. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars."

USA Today: "Mike Johnson announces transgender bathroom ban in Capitol after Sarah McBride's election"

• On Wednesday House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, announced a policy that would ban transgender people from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender in certain parts of the Capitol. 
• Johnson stated: “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. It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.”
• Dispute about the bathrooms in the Capitol first broke out when Rep. Nancy, R-S.C, introduced a resolution on Monday that would prohibit transgender women from using women's restrooms.
• This came less than a month after Sarah McBride was elected as the first openly transgender person to Congress. 
• McBride stated that she will follow Johnson's policy
• McBride said: "I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families" 
• According to house rules, the Speaker has “general control of the Hall of the House, the corridors and passages in the part of the Capitol assigned to the use of the House, and the disposal of unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol.”
• It is not yet clear how Johnson's announcement will be enforced. 
• Johnson's statement comes on Transgender Day of Remembrance.
• The chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., criticized Johnsons decision. 
• Pocan stated: "Speaker Johnson's holier-than-thou decree to ban transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their identity is a cruel and unnecessary rule that puts countless staff, interns, and visitors to the United States Capitol at risk"
• Johnson's decision has also been targeted by LGBTQ groups. 
• Kelly Robinson, the Human Rights Campaign President, stated: "this new cruel and discriminatory policy has nothing to do with helping the American people or addressing their priorities–it’s all about hurting people."
• Approximately 0.5% of US adults identify as transgender. 

Discussion

    I was surprised to find that these two sources gave a very similar report on this topic. I had expected the right-leaning source (Newsmax) to have a supportive bias toward Johnson's announcement and the left-leaning source (USA Today) to be more critical of Johnson's announcement. Instead, I found that both sources seemed to stick to the facts of the event and provided the same information. I did not read anything in either of the articles that sounded like the opinion of the writer.

    The only difference that I noticed between the two articles was that the USA Today article provided more information on the reaction of Democrats and LGBTQ organizations. The USA Today article also mentioned the percentage of people in the US who identify as transgender. The title of the USA Today article connected Johnson's announcement to McBride's election while the Newsmax article did not. However, both sources discussed the connection to McBride within their articles.