Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to restrict transgender youth from participating in women’s sports, with two Democrats joining them.
The legislation amends Title IX, the law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs if they receive federal money. The bill would amend the term “sex” to “be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
But only two conservative Democrats, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, joined Republicans to pass the bill. This came after months of internal debate, with some Democrats fearing that Republican attacks against them worked in the 2024 election.
Rep Seth Moulton of Massachusetts had come under criticism for his comments about trans girls playing women’s sports. But Moulton voted against it, telling The Independent “it goes too far.”
In the days after the election, Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from Long Island who had previously criticized Democrats’ supporting “biological boys playing in girls’ sports.” But he told The Independent the night before that he planned to vote against the bill.
The House rules package, which dictates the way the House of Representatives conducts itself, listed the legislation as its top priority.
Republicans repeatedly attacked Democrats throughout the 2024 election for allowing transgender girls to compete in women’s sports.
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York told The Independent she was pleased that Democrats voted against the bill.
“We can’t be minis about this,” she said. “These are just the early days. Trump hasn’t even been sworn in yet, and if, a little bitty sports bill was gonna make Dems defect, like, we’re not in good shape.”
The legislation will likely be taken up soon in the Senate, where Sen Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has a companion bill.
President-elect Donald Trump for his part has said he will roll back Biden administration rules that allowed transgender students from using bathrooms or playing sports that align with their gender identities.
The night ahead of the vote, Democrats seemed to be unsure about voting for it. Susie Lee of Nevada told The Independent that she was leaning toward voting against it and had voted against it in the past. Angie Craig of Minnesota said she had not even met with her legislative staff.
Progressives for their part adopted a new line of attack against Republicans for proposing the legislation.
“This bill would empower child predators to inspect genitalia of young women,” Maxwell Frost of Florida told The Independent. “And so, to protect children, we got to make sure to vote against it.”
