Transgender lawmakers, staff and visitors will be banned from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity on the House side of the U.S. Capitol, report agencies.

"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," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement Wednesday.

While the move is most directly aimed at Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, who will be the first openly transgender member of Congress after winning Delaware`s sole House seat. It will also affect transgender visitors and committee witnesses. The Capitol receives over 3 million visitors each year.

McBride will have access to a private restroom within her office, located in a separate building near the Capitol, and unisex restrooms in the Capitol complex. Those unisex bathrooms, however, may not be as easily accessible as the single-sex restrooms located right off the House floor, especially during long stretches of voting.

The move, first reported by the Hill, puts Johnson at the center of efforts to limit transgender people`s rights. The statement came a day after he told reporters, "I believe it`s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will."

The announcement by Majority Leader Mike Johnson on Wednesday comes one day after Republican Representative Nancy Mace introduced a bill imposing similar restrictions, appearing to target transgender lawmaker Sarah McBride.

"We`re not going to have men in women`s bathrooms," Johnson told the Associated Press news agency. "I`ve been consistent about that with anyone I`ve talked to about this."

Democratic representatives have condemned the move as cruel and petty. Republican lawmakers and activists have stepped up attacks on transgender rights in recent years.

Over the last several days, Mace has made a series of disparaging remarks about McBride and transgender people, stating in a social media post on Wednesday that "your mental illness will not become my new normal".

McBride, who was assigned male at birth, came out as transgender in 2012. Since then, she has been the first openly transgender White House intern, national political convention speaker and state senator.

"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," McBride added. "We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars."

"I`m not here to fight about bathrooms, I`m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families," McBride said in a statement.