A divided House on Tuesday approved legislation that aims to bar transgender women and girls from participating in school athletic programs designated for female students, as Republicans sought to wring political opportunity from a social issue that helped them win the 2024 elections
The bill, approved almost entirely along party lines on a vote of 218 to 206, would prohibit federal funding from going to K-12 schools that include transgender students on women’s sports teams. It faces a steep challenge in the Senate, where seven Democrats would have to join Republicans to move it past a filibuster and to a final vote.
Just two Democrats joined all Republicans in voting in favor in the House, while another Democrat voted “present,” declining to register a position.
Republicans on Tuesday presented the legislation, which they also pushed through during the last Congress, as a popular and pragmatic way to level the playing field for female athletes, and as a move to protect women’s spaces and women’s rights.
“The overwhelming majority believe men don’t belong in women’s sports,” said Representative Greg Steube, the Florida Republican who sponsored the measure. “This bill will deliver upon the mandate the American people gave Congress.”
But Democrats, who dubbed the bill the “Child Predator Empowerment Act,” said it was a dangerous invasion of privacy for young girls that would put them at greater risk. They also pointed to the bill as the latest example of an unhealthy fixation among Republicans with trying to restrict the rights of transgender individuals, when they could be spending their time passing legislation to create jobs or reduce the prices of groceries.
Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, said bluntly that the bill was an example of Republicans’ “creepy obsession with your kids’ private parts” and that it would fuel more hate against a small and vulnerable population of transgender children that already faces higher rates of bullying and mental health issues.
“Every kid should be able to play sports,” Mr. McGovern added. “This is a mean, cruel, bullying tactic.”
Representative Lori Trahan, Democrat of Massachusetts and the only former Division I female college athlete currently serving in Congress, said there were legitimate concerns about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports at the highest levels. But she criticized Republican lawmakers for injecting themselves into the issue.
“Why in the world would we let insincere, attention-seeking politicians here in Washington — many of whom know little to nothing about competitive sports — take over?” Ms. Trahan said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Democrats also said that while there could be instances of transgender athletes competing in elite sports that were concerning, the measure would lump those with harmless situations in which elementary school children simply want to be included in activities with their friends.
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