House Passes Bill Restricting Transgender Athletes from Women's Sports for Equal Opportunity
The House passed a measure to restrict transgender students from playing on women’s sports teams on a 218-206 vote Tuesday, with two Democrats joining Republicans to support the bill and one voting present.
The legislation — H.R. 28 — is a cornerstone of the GOP’s education agenda and would deliver on a priority for the incoming Trump administration. It bans transgender women from competing on teams consistent with their gender identity and amends Title IX, the federal education law that bars sex-based discrimination, to define sex as based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.
Transgender students, however, would be able to practice or train with a program designated for women or girls.
President-elect Donald Trump honed in on transgender rights and inclusion as a key campaign issue and used it to attack Democratic candidates in ads and speeches. Republicans have since viewed the issue as a potential political albatross that could divide Democrats. The vote served as the first test for Democratic lawmakers who have been grappling with their party’s broad support of transgender rights following the 2024 elections.
Texas Democrats Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez joined Republicans in passing the measure. North Carolina Democrat Don Davis voted present.
Reps. Seth Moulton (Mass.), Tom Suozzi (N.Y.) and Gonzalez had recently vocalized their concerns over whether transgender students should be allowed to play on women’s sports and whether Democrats should change their messaging. Moulton and Suozzi voted against the measure.
On the House floor: During debate over the bill on Tuesday, GOP lawmakers argued the bill is crucial to upholding the promise of Title IX and protecting equal opportunity in athletics for women and girls. They focused on the physical disadvantages cisgender women could have against transgender athletes and potential injury risks they face.
“Kicking girls off sports teams to make way for biological males takes opportunities away from these girls,” House Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg said on the House floor. “This means fewer college scholarships and fewer opportunities for girls. It also makes them second class citizens in their own sports and puts their safety at risk. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act offers a new promise to America’s women and girls.”
Several Democrats lambasted the bill as discriminatory and dangerous. They argued the bill is targeting a small number of people — less than 10 transgender athletes are competing in the NCAA — and that being part of a team and participating in sports is essential to students’ social and emotional development.
Democrats also brought a sign that labeled the measure “The GOP Child Predator Empowerment Act.” Lawmakers asserted the bill could make sports more dangerous for all students because it does not outline how schools should enforce the bill and could subject students to invasive sex testing.
“There is no way this so-called protection bill could be enforced without opening the door to harassment and privacy violations,” said Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), who managed the Democratic debate time. “Will students have to take exams to prove they’re a girl? We’re already seeing examples of harassment and questioning of girls who may not conform to stereotypical feminine roles. Will they be subject to demands for medical tests, private information that’s intrusive, offensive and unacceptable?”
Walberg said the bill would not require any of that.
“I’m shocked at that description of this legislation and would ask where in the world that information has been found?” Walberg rebutted. “There is no requirement for inspections and there’s no necessary effort other than going to a person’s birth certificate.”
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first openly transgender member of Congress, also slammed the measure.
“I have two questions. How does this lower costs for workers? And how on earth is this going to be enforced?” McBride said.
Reaction: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) took a victory lap after the bill’s passage at a press conference with lawmakers, including Reps. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Mary Miller (R-Ill.), and Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and ambassador for the Independent Women’s Forum.
“Today, the House voted to uphold common sense again,” Johnson said. “We voted to require all schools receiving federal funds to uphold the original meaning of Title IX and keep biological men out of women’s sports. Last Congress, we voted on this legislation as well. We’ll note that not one single Democrat joined us. Today was an improvement. Bipartisan. We had two Democrats … There should have been many, many more.”
Advocacy groups supporting transgender students immediately criticized the vote as an attack and warned of a potential Senate vote on the measure as soon as next week.
“All students deserve to play sports alongside their peers,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center. “For the students and community harmed by this bill, for everyone watching the cruel and dehumanizing campaign to diminish transgender young people, we are advocating for you and not giving up on protecting your humanity.”
What’s next: Senate Republicans have also been moving to advance a similar measure out of the chamber, but the bill could stall in the Republican-controlled Senate because it would require some Democratic support.
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to address women’s athletics and has signaled he could issue an executive order to bar transgender women and girls from women’s sports after he takes office on Monday.
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.
