A Republican in your bathroom? New ad highlights GOP’s anti-trans obsession

This story originally appeared on Them.In a marked contrast to prominent Democrats equivocating in response to Republican political attacks on transgender people, one super PAC is addressing the issue head-on.Progress Action Fund (PAF), a political action committee founded by former Obama administration intern Joe Jacobson, released an ad on October 13 highlighting the ridiculousness of the Republican focus on trans people this election cycle, taking a decisive stance on the issue.The 30-second spot, entitled “Republicans In Your Bathroom,” targets the GOP over its fixation on restricting trans people’s access to restrooms and locker rooms. The ad, which The Hill reports is part of a larger buy worth over $1 million per The Hill, begins with a young girl entering a bathroom and to her horror, encountering an older white-haired man sitting in the stall waiting for her. He greets her with a short hello. Immediately, the girl presses the man for answers, “What are you doing? Who are you?” “I’m your Republican congressman. Now that we’re in charge, I’m checking to make sure that there’s no trans people in the wrong bathroom,” he says.Her response: “Bathrooms are private. Don’t you have anything better to do?”“I won the last election, and this is my priority,” he says, “Now let’s make sure you’re really a girl,” ending with an ominous smirk. - YouTube The ad, while brief, is meant to draw attention to the absurdity of the GOP's focus on trans people at a time when energy prices are skyrocketing amid the war in Iran, and when most Americans report affordability as their top issue in the 2026 midterm elections.Jacobson, who serves as PAF’s executive director, shared an accompanying statement with The Hill, saying, “Americans want their elected officials to lower gas prices and end the war in Iran, not follow them into the f**king restroom. Republicans are creepy as hell. Democrats need to grow a spine and call Republicans out for