House Democrats Propose Rule Changes, Eliminate Gendered Language for Incoming Congress

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) revealed Friday morning a set of proposed changes to the House rules for the next Congress, which convenes Sunday at noon, including changes that would enshrine gender-inclusive language and cease the use of so-called non-inclusive words in the text of the House rules.

The proposed changes, which will be voted on shortly after the House enters session, would swap out the words father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, husband, and wife for the words parent, child, sibling, parent’s sibling, and spouse in a...

The Democratic majority in the House has proposed sweeping changes to language used in the chamber, eliminating gendered terms including "mother" and "husband."

The proposed rule package seeks to “honor all gender identities” by striking words including “seaman,” “chairman,” “father,” “mother,” “sister,” “husband,” and “wife” from use and replacing them with gender-neutral terms including “seafarer,” “chair,” “parent,” “child,” and “sibling.”

The resolution, proposed Friday by Rep. James McGovern, the chairman of the House Rules Committee, will be voted on after the 117th Congress is sworn in on Sunday.

If passed,...