Some support that position with unbridled passion. For many others the vote over the Protect Women and Girls Sports Act was a move to keep the “left flank” of the party at bay, says Greg Steube (R-Florida), the bill’s author.
Tommy Tuberville has a parallel bill moving in the Senate right now.
Two lawmakers from the Democratic Party, Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, crossed over to vote for the bill, which was first introduced in 2003. Rep. Don Davis (D-North Carolina) voted present.
All Republicans supported the bill, bringing the final vote to 218-206.
The bill requires schools receiving federal funding to prohibit biological boys and men from participating in athletic programs or activities designated for women or girls – but with a catch.
It’s carefully worded language allows males to train or practice with a girl’s program but draws the line at males taking away any “benefit” such as playing time from females.
“No female is (to be) deprived of a roster spot on a team or sport, opportunity to participate in a practice or competition, scholarship, admission to an educational institution, or any other benefit that accompanies participating in the athletic program or activity,” the text states.
An exit poll conducted by Concerned Women for America after Donald Trump’s landslide victory last November found that 70% of voters indicated that transgender issues were an important factor in deciding their vote.
The poll found that 70% said Donald Trump’s opposition to biological boys playing on girls’ sports teams and being present in girls locker rooms and restrooms was an important issue. Forty-four percent said it was a very important issue, six percent said it was the most important.
Before the election, The Wall Street Journal had called transgender rights a “sleeper” issue.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the Democrats’ lack of support “shameful” while noting “the American people sent a clear message in November that they want us to return to common sense, but it seems that some of our friends in the other party are ignoring that plea."
“They’re afraid of their left flank. They're afraid that a progressive Democrat is going to come along that's pro-trans or whatever the case may be,” Steube said on Washington Watch Tuesday.
“The Democrats call this discriminating against trans women and trans boys, and all of that kind of stuff, made-up terminology that 10 years ago nobody would even know what that word means. Apparently now (trans) is a very used term in Democratic circles,” he told show host Tony Perkins.
Overcoming a list of injustices
Perkins called it a strong bill that he says will help “stem the tide of injustices against women.”
Gerard Filitti, an attorney with Lawfare Project, said on American Family Radio Tuesday the bill will have far-reaching effects if it ultimately becomes law.
“I think the implications of it, it will encourage states to mirror this with regard to state law,” he told show host Jenna Ellis.
In a social media post, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) bizarrely predicted the law will "unleash horrific child predators on girls and young women,” Fox News Digital reported.
Jeffries' office has not offered a substantial explanation as to how the law would do this. When the outlet sought comment, a Jeffries spokesperson only said, "The post speaks for itself."
The bill passed in spite of the best misleading efforts of Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts).
“Imagine you are eight years old trying out for the soccer team and your coach demands that you show them your genitals. That is abuse. That is exploitation. That is egregious. But it is exactly what this Republican bill does,” Pressley railed from the House floor.
Steube called Pressley a liar.
“It’s an absolute, complete, outright lie,” he told Washington Watch.
Democrats “believe their own lies, and the mainstream media is going to perpetuate that lie. It's just like what the mainstream media has been doing when Trump collusion and all these other kinds of things,” Steube said.
He challenged the public to read the bill, which is just 479 words in length.
Pressley and other Democrats have been emboldened to lie because Joe Biden’s four-year run as president, Steube said.
“We’ve seen just evil perpetuated during the Biden administration, the complete removal of truth. We've seen that for the last four years," the GOP lawmaker said.
The bill also gives additional clarification to Biden's re-write of Title IX which was struck down by a federal judge from Kentucky's Northern District earlier this month.
Title IX was enacted in 1972 to ensure the rights of women and girls in public schools and universities. The Biden administration tried hard to squeeze transgenders into Title IX.
"The bill clarifies that Title IX the definition of sex always meant male and female as we know it," Sara Beth Nolan, whose law firm, Alliance Defending Freedom, is actively representing female athletes in court cases over Title IX matters, told AFN. "It was never meant to include gender identity and what that means for girls is that they have equal opportunity to compete on their teams and that they're not removed from their spaces, that they can compete safely and so we need both alongside each other to ensure that that doesn't happen again."
Democrats likely to stay the course
In spite of Trump’s election victory, Steube doesn’t see Democrats changing course to become more centrist.
Trump won 13 districts in which Democrats now hold a congressional seat.
“What’s really surprising," Filitti observed, "is the pushback that they're getting from Democrats, those who live in districts where they know that this is an issue for their constituents, districts that Donald Trump won heartily."
Filitti predicted the issue will "plague" Democrats at the ballot box if they continue on this path of reinventing words and "woke" definitions that do harm to women.
Steube sees more of the same from his Democrat colleagues in 2025.
“I can guarantee you if you poll those districts, the majority in those districts believe that women's sports should be just that and that biological men shouldn't be allowed to compete in those women's sports. But they're so afraid of their left flank they’re going to continue to act in this manner,” he said.
