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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday he would not participate in “silly debates” when asked by a reporter of Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., was a man or a woman. 

“Look, I’m not going to get into this,” Johnson said during a press conference. “We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of all the people. I believe it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect and we will. I’m not going to engage in silly debates about this.”

McBride recently became the first openly transgender person elected to Congress and is male who identifies as female.

“There’s a concern about the uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all of that,” Johnson said. “This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before and we’re going to do that in a deliberate fashion with member consensus on it and we will accommodate the needs of every single person.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a bill Monday that would ban members, officers and employees of the House who are biological males, including transgender women, from using female facilities in the Capitol or House office buildings.

When asked if Johnson would take up Mace’s bill, he refused to address it. 

“I’m not gonna address plans on any of that,” he said. “I just told you what I’m gonna say about the issue. I’m not gonna engage in this. We don’t look down upon anyone. We treat everybody with dignity and respect.”