Right-Wingers Bash Anti-Trans Lawmaker for Unwittingly Touting DEI: Report

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), a vocal opponent of transgender rights, found herself under fire from her own conservative allies after touting her historic graduation as the first woman from The Citadel. Mace, who has pushed legislation restricting transgender access to public spaces, posted on X that she didn’t fight to break barriers just for “some man in a miniskirt” to undermine her achievement, reported RollingStone.com

However, right-wing figures quickly turned on her, accusing her of hypocrisy for benefiting from diversity and inclusion policies that allowed women into The Citadel while now opposing similar protections for others. Conservative commentators, including The Federalist’s John Daniel Davidson and Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, mocked Mace, arguing that her admission to The Citadel itself was an attack on sex-segregated spaces.

The backlash highlights a deeper contradiction in the right’s agenda—while Mace champions discrimination against transgender individuals, her own success came from policies that expanded opportunities for women. The response underscores how the broader conservative movement is using anti-trans rhetoric to dismantle civil rights protections, including those for women. Mace’s experience serves as a stark reminder that in the right’s vision, women who break barriers may ultimately face the same exclusion they seek to impose on others.