Only two House Democrats join Republicans to ban trans athletes from women’s sports/
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Republicans make their latest attack on transgender youth as the legislation moves to the Senate. 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.”.
![[Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Ca., who has a transgender brother said the bill is ‘about checking women’s genitals before they allow them to play sports’]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/14/18/GettyImages-1247642270.jpg)
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.
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 ninnies 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.
