Rep. Henry Cuellar, left, greets U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan
House Republicans voted today to pass a bill that would ban transgender students from playing sports at any federally funded schools and education programs. LGBTQ+ advocates condemned the vote. It’s unclear when its companion bill in the Republican-controlled Senate will receive a vote and doubtful that the bill will receive enough Democrat support to pass the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster.
The bill, entitled the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, passed largely along party lines in a 218-206 vote, with two Democrats supporting the transphobic bill along with all Republicans — the Democrats were Texas Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar. Three Republicans and six Democrats didn’t vote, while one Democrat voted “present,” The Hill noted.
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Politico noted that Gonzalez aired an election season ad stating that he opposes trans women playing women’s sports, and that the issue was a “notable” one for Latino voters, the majority of which supported President-elect Donald Trump in the last election.
In a November interview with Politico, Cuellar said that Democrats have underestimated how strongly voters feel about the issue, especially in rural America and his district in South Texas.
The bill would amend Title IX — the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in government-funded schools and education programs — to prohibit schools from allowing trans female athletes to participate in athletic programs or activities “designated for women or girls.”
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While the bill defines sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” the Congressional Equality Caucus, noted that the bill “could force any student to answer invasive personal questions about their bodies & face humiliating physical inspections to ‘prove’ that they’re a girl.” The caucus referred to the bill as the “Child Predator Empowerment Act.”
🚨BAD BILL MOVING🚨 It’s day 12 of the 119th Congress, and House Republicans are already considering a federal ban on trans girls from participating in school sports.
Here’s a 🧵about H.R. 28, better known as the GOP’s “Child Predator Empowerment Act,” and what it means:
— Congressional Equality Caucus (@EqualityCaucus) January 14, 2025
When introducing the bill, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) wrote in a statement that repeatedly misgendered trans women, “The radical left is not in step with the American people on the issue of protecting women’s sports. Americans have loudly spoken that they do not want men stealing sports records from women, entering their daughters’ locker rooms, replacing female athletes on teams, and taking their daughters’ scholarship opportunities.”
In a statement opposing the bill, out lesbian Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) said, “This is interrogation of young girls about their bodies; this asking people to show them what’s underneath their underwear. That is what we’re talking about.”
Another opponent of the bill, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote, “There is no enforcement mechanism in this bill. And when there is no enforcement mechanism, you open the door for every enforcement mechanism.”
While Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) drew criticism after the 2024 election for saying that he opposes trans girls and women in girls and women’s sports, he didn’t support the bill, calling it “too extreme” and saying, “This is not the sort of balanced, fairness-oriented policy I’ve advocated for, and I won’t vote yes on this bill just because it is the first option that comes to the floor.”
In a statement against the bill’s passage in the House, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson wrote, “We all want sports to be fair, students to be safe, and young people to have the opportunity to participate alongside their peers. But this kind of blanket ban deprives kids of those things. This bill would expose young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look. It could even expose children to invasive, inappropriate questions and examinations.”
Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, Executive Director for Advocates for Trans Equality, wrote in a statement, “The American people have a laundry list of urgent matters impacting our families everyday and our ability to put food on our tables and roofs over our heads, and these anti-trans politicians are ignoring the people’s business to take up the hateful agenda of right-wing extremists.”
In a statement released Tuesday, Allison Scott, Director of Impact and Innovation at the Campaign for Southern Equality, called the House vote “ a cruel and unjust abuse of power that targets a very small number of young people who just want to play school sports with their friends.”
“I want to send a clear message to transgender young people and their families: No law can strip you of your inherent dignity and humanity, and we will never stop working alongside you and a huge community nationwide to ensure all people can live authentically and with joy,” she added, calling upon senators to reject the legislation.
Equality California, the state’s LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, said the vote “represents yet another effort [by Republicans] to deny transgender youth the dignity and respect they deserve.”
“Participation in sports provides kids with invaluable life skills such as teamwork, leadership, discipline, and cooperation—fundamental lessons that every young person deserves the chance to experience,” the organization stated. “Beyond the field, sports also contribute significantly to students’ overall well-being, fostering better mental health, boosting academic performance, and enhancing self-esteem and confidence.”
“Local schools and athletic associations across the country are already creating policies that protect transgender youth and ensure a level playing field for all students—and they’re working,” the group added. “Our schools should be focused on providing the best possible education and helping to improve the well-being of all students, not actively harming students’ mental health and creating a hostile environment by singling out certain people. Every child deserves equal access to these opportunities.”
Of all the athletes competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which oversees competition in most federally funded colleges and universities, fewer than 0.002% are estimated to be trans.
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