Sarah McBride

Sarah Elizabeth McBride (born August 9, 1990) is an American activist and politician who is the U.S. representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Delaware Senate from January 2021 to January 2025, representing the state's 1st senate district. Prior, she was the national press secretary of the Human Rights Campaign from 2016 to 2021. McBride is the nation's highest ranking openly transgender elected official and the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress.

In 2020, McBride became the first openly transgender person elected as a state senator in the United States. Prior to her election, McBride lobbied for the successful passage of legislation in Delaware banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity in employment, housing, insurance, and public accommodations. In July 2016, she was a speaker at the Democratic National Convention, becoming the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in American history. In 2018, McBride published her memoir '' Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality'', with a foreword by Joe Biden. McBride has been credited with shaping President Biden's personal views and political evolution on transgender issues.

Early life

Sarah McBride was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to David and Sally McBride on August 9, 1990. Her father was a lawyer for Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor; her mother was a high school guidance counselor and a founder of the Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington.

McBride graduated from Cab Calloway in 2009, and then attended American University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a bachelor's degree in 2013. She was elected president of the American University Student Government in 2011, having earlier worked on "arts advocacy, the purchase of conflict-free minerals on campus and academic regulations" as a member of the undergraduate senate from 2010. During this time she had already begun political advocacy, including as a co-founder of Delaware's Young Democrats Movement and on the election campaigns for local Democrats, including Beau Biden, Matthew Denn, and Jack Markell. At the end of her term as president of the student government, she penned a letter in the school's newspaper in which she announced her transition.

In a 2011 interview, she cited Markell as a particular role model.

Social and political activism

McBride has said that she has been interested in politics since she was a child. She worked as a staffer on several campaigns in Delaware, including that of Governor Jack Markell in 2008 and of Delaware attorney general Beau Biden in 2010. In 2011, McBride was elected student body president at American University. During her last week as student body president in 2012, McBride gained international attention when she came out as a transgender woman in her college's student newspaper, ''The Eagle''.

McBride's coming out was featured on NPR, ''The Huffington Post'', and by Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation. After coming out, McBride received a call from Delaware attorney general Beau Biden, saying, "Sarah, I just wanted you to know, I'm so proud of you. I love you, and you're still a part of the Biden family." Vice President Joe Biden expressed similar sentiments, sharing that he was proud of her and happy for her.

In 2012, McBride interned at the White House, becoming the first openly transgender woman to work there in any capacity. McBride worked in the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, where she worked on LGBTQ issues. In a speech in May 2015, Second Lady Jill Biden told McBride's story. She added, "we believe young people should be valued for who they are, no matter what they look like, where they're from, the gender with which they identify, or who they love."

In January 2013, McBride joined the board of directors of Equality Delaware and quickly became the state's leading advocate for legal protections and hate crime legislation for transgender Delawareans. McBride and her family led the lobbying effort for legislation protecting Delawareans from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression in employment, housing, insurance, and public accommodations. In addition to serving as the primary spokesperson for the legislation, McBride built on her close relationship with Governor Jack Markell and Attorney General Beau Biden to gain the vocal support of both officials behind the bill. The legislation passed the state senate by a margin of one vote and the state house by a vote of 24–17. An amended bill was re-passed by the state senate and immediately signed into law by Markell in June 2013.

Upon signing the legislation, Markell stated:

I especially want to thank my friend Sarah McBride, an intelligent and talented Delawarean who happens to be transgender. She courageously stood before the General Assembly to describe her personal struggles with gender identity and communicate her desire to return home after her college graduation without fear. Her tireless advocacy for passage of this legislation has made a real difference for all transgender people in Delaware.

After passage of this legislation, McBride worked on the LGBT Progress team at the Center for American Progress. McBride has spoken at a number of colleges and LGBTQ events, including the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner, the Human Rights Campaign Los Angeles Dinner, the Victory Fund National Brunch, the University of Pennsylvania, and Gettysburg College. McBride was ranked the Most Valuable Progressive in Delaware by DelawareLiberal.net listed in the 2014 list of the Trans 100, and named one of the fifty upcoming millennials poised to make a difference in the coming years by MIC.com.

A 2015 article in the ''New Statesman'' on transgender representation in elective office predicted McBride would be the first transgender American elected to high public office. McBride was a panelist at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's "GLOBE Pride 2016" on youth and workplace bullying. McBride has been featured in ''The New York Times'', ''The Huffington Post'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Boston Globe'', Al Jazeera, ''PBS NewsHour'', ''Teen Vogue'', North Carolina Public Radio, ''The New Yorker'', MSNBC, ''ThinkProgress'', BuzzFeed, and NPR.

In April 2016, McBride delivered a TED Talk titled, "Gender assigned to us at birth should not dictate who we are." She also served on the steering committee of Trans United for Hillary, an effort to educate and mobilize transgender people and their allies in support of Hillary Clinton.

On July 28, 2016, McBride became the first openly transgender person to speak at a national party convention when she spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. In her speech, which lasted less than four minutes, McBride paid tribute to her late husband Andrew Cray and his commitment to LGBTQ rights.

Delaware Senate

On July 9, 2019, McBride formally announced her candidacy for the Delaware Senate.Avery, Daniel (July 9, 2019)
"Who Is Sarah McBride? Transgender Activist Announces Run for Delaware Senate."
''Newsweek''. Retrieved July 9, 2019. She stated that her focus would be health care and paid family and medical leave.

McBride won her election in November 2020, becoming the first transgender state senator in United States history. She replaced fellow Democrat Harris McDowell III, who retired at the end of his term. During her first term, she successfully sponsored the Healthy Delaware Families Act, which would allow families to take a paid 12-week family or medical leave. The law provides for workers to receive up to 80% of their current wages or a maximum of $900 per week, with the program paid for through automatic payroll contributions.

United States House of Representatives

In June 2023, McBride announced her candidacy to represent Delaware's at-large congressional district in the 2024 election to replace Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, who had announced she was running for the U.S. Senate seat left by retiring senator Tom Carper. Rochester endorsed McBride.

During her campaign for Congress, McBride emphasized her record of passing paid family and medical leave in Delaware, along with working to increase the minimum wage. Her key priorities also included protecting reproductive rights, expanding access to healthcare, and addressing economic insecurity. On September 10, 2024, McBride won the Democratic primary election for the 2024 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware, winning 80% of the votes against two other candidates, officially becoming the Democratic nominee. She won the general election in November 2024 with 58% of the vote, and became the first openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress on January 3, 2025.

Misgendering controversies

Congressional bathrooms

Two weeks after McBride's election to Congress, Republican representative Nancy Mace introduced a bill to ban transgender women from using the women's bathroom on Capitol Hill, saying that the bill specifically was meant to target McBride. Shortly thereafter, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson enacted a ban to the same effect. McBride subsequently announced that she would comply with the ban, saying "I'm not here to fight about bathrooms, I'm here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families."

House floor and committee hearings

On February 7, 2025, Rep. Mary Miller was presiding and introduced McBride as "the gentleman from Delaware, Mr. McBride." Rep. McBride continued her floor speech without acknowledging the comment. This was later corrected in the congressional record to the correctly-gendered honorific.

On March 11, 2025, in a hearing of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Chair Keith Self introduced McBride as "the representative from Delaware, Mr. McBride." McBride replied by thanking Self as "Madam chair". Ranking Member Bill Keating interrupted and responded to Self, "Mr. Chairman, have you no decency?" Self repeated "Mr. McBride", and attempted to continue the hearing, but Keating stated "You will not continue it with me unless you introduce a duly-elected representative the right way!" Keating's absence would deny the hearing a quorum, so Self adjourned the hearing. During the exchange Self said "we have set the standard on the House floor", referring to the February incident.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Foreign Affairs
** Subcommittee on Europe
** Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability
* Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
** Subcommittee on Research and Technology

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Equality Caucus (co-chair)
*Congressional Democratic Women's Caucus (whip)
* Congressional Progressive Caucus
*New Democrat Coalition

Political positions

Foreign policy

Israel

In an August 2023 interview with ''Jewish Insider'', McBride "framed herself as a staunch supporter of Israel and the U.S.–Israel relationship, as well as a committed fighter against antisemitism". She has supported a two-state solution, American aid to Israel, and the Abraham Accords. She has also backed a ceasefire in the Gaza war and praised the one reached in January 2025.

Ukraine

McBride has supported Biden's policy on Ukraine, as well as further support to the country.

Social policy

LGBTQ+ rights

McBride criticized Executive Order 14168, signed by Donald Trump on his first day in the office, characterizing it as "red meat for his extreme base".

Personal life

On August 24, 2014, McBride married fellow LGBTQ rights activist Andrew Cray in a small, private wedding ceremony on their apartment rooftop in Washington, D.C. The ceremony was officiated by Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson. Four days after their wedding, Cray died from oral cancer.

McBride is an ordained Presbyterian elder.

Electoral history

Publications

Books

* ''Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality'', by Sarah McBride; Foreword by Joe Biden; Crown Archetype (2018).
* ''Raising Kids Beyond the Binary: Celebrating God's Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children'', by Jamie Bruesehoff, Foreword by Sarah McBride; Broadleaf Books (2023).

Articles

* "Op-Ed: The Real Me"; ''The Eagle'' (American University); May 1, 2012. (republished in an expanded version a week later at the HuffPost)
* "Forever and Ever: Losing My Husband at 24"; ''HuffPost'' (2015).

See also

* List of LGBTQ members of the United States Congress
* List of transgender public officeholders in the United States
* Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

Further reading

*

External links

*
Campaign website

{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Sarah
1990 births
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century American women writers
21st-century members of the Delaware General Assembly
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
Activists from Washington, D.C.
Activists from Wilmington, Delaware
American LGBTQ rights activists
American transgender politicians
American transgender women
American transgender writers
American University alumni
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Democratic Party Delaware state senators
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Female members of the United States House of Representatives
LGBTQ members of the United States Congress
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Transgender history in the United States
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