House passes bill to bar trans athletes from female school sports teams

WASHINGTON — 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 218-206, 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 Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., 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.

“Every kid should be able to play sports,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said. “This is a mean, cruel, bullying tactic.”