Sarah McBride knew some Democrats would betray trans people, so she lobbied Republicans

"The House on Wednesday approved the bill, which would impose felony penalties of up to 10 years in prison on physicians who provide puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgical care to patients under 18 for the purpose of gender transition. Introduced by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, the bill would also expose parents and others who consent to or help minors access that care to criminal liability."

"Rep. Becca Balint, an Equality Caucus co-chair alongside McBride, told NOTUS that the group was "looking at names, we were figuring out who had relationships with whom, and then each of us had separate conversations and then we would huddle back up and share information." "We're most interested in the caucus, right? But we also suspected we might lose some Democrats, which is why Sarah was like, 'Look, I'll pick up votes wherever I can,'" Balint said, adding that McBride "takes her work very seriously, she will talk to anyone.""

Sarah McBride worked with the House Equality Caucus to identify and contact Republicans who might oppose a ban on gender-affirming care for youth. The caucus coordinated outreach and individual conversations to try to hold caucus members and pick up additional votes. The bill, introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, would impose felony penalties of up to 10 years on physicians providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgeries to patients under 18 and would expose parents and others who help minors to criminal liability. The measure passed 216 to 211, with three Democrats voting for it and four Republicans voting against. McBride has not publicly described her conversations with the Republicans she contacted.

Read at Advocate.com