“I feel very, very strongly that you should have every single solitary right including use of your gender identity bathrooms, but public,” he added.
Mulvaney then said that he felt like Republicans had “blam[ed] society’s downfall” on transgender people.
“How can Democratic leaders be more effective in advocating for us trans people in our families in our lives and our opportunities?” Mulvaney asked the president.
Biden responded: “I’m not being facetious when I say this, but being seen with people like you. No, I mean it … people fear what they don’t know,” he said.
The White House did not respond to CNA’s request for comment.
Europe rolls back gender care for kids
The president’s remarks come as several European countries continue to scale back access to gender-affirming treatments and surgeries on minors.
Last week, England’s National Hospital System (NHS) drafted new guidance saying it would be issuing stricter oversight on providing “gender-affirming” care to children with gender dysphoria.
According to Reuters, which obtained a draft of the guidelines, the guidance calls for “local authorities to be alerted in some cases where young people have obtained puberty blockers and hormone therapies on the private market.”
The guidelines include various safeguarding protocols to ensure “the safety and well-being” of children who want access to puberty blockers and hormone treatments.
The news comes in response to criticism from “practitioners who said it rushed people onto medication,” Reuters reported.
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It follows the closure of what was the world’s largest transition clinic for minors, the U.K.’s Tavistock Clinic, which was shut down this year after an independent review and complaints from patient families.
England is not the only country to have updated its protocols for treating children with gender dysphoria. Finland and Sweden have reversed their guidelines on gender care, with Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW) stating in July that “the risks of puberty suppressing treatment [with] gender-affirming hormonal treatment currently outweigh the possible benefits.”
Edie Heipel is a former Political Correspondent for CNA's Washington, D.C. bureau. She previously worked in communications for Center for Renewing America, served in the Trump White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and has been a contributor to various outlets including The Federalist and The Charlotte Lozier Institute. She is a graduate of Wheaton College.