Several Republican female lawmakers assembled to promote the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023" on Capitol Hill Thursday ahead of its passage in the House of Representatives.
The legislation, introduced by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., aims to prevent biological males from participating in women's sports. Educational institutions that receive Title IX funding from the federal government would not be allowed to "permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designed for women or girls." The bill passed the House in a 219-203 vote, with all the "no" votes coming from Democrats. President Biden has pledged to veto the bill should it reach his desk, blasting it as "discrimination" against transgender student athletes.
"The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 734," the White House said in a statement. "For students nationwide, participating in sports and being part of a team is an important part of growing up, staying engaged in school, and learning leadership and life skills. H.R. 734 would deny access to sports for many families by establishing an absolute ban on transgender students—even those as young as elementary schoolers—playing on a team consistent with their gender identity."
"This is not discrimination against anyone," Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital in response. "That is the most ridiculous thing to be saying… All we're saying is, biological women should be competing against biological women. And biological men should be competing against biological men. The bill is very short. It has nothing in it about discriminating against anyone. That's a red herring if there ever was a red herring."
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., accused Democrats of spearheading a "radical gender fluidity agenda," while reflecting on her own career as a student athlete.
"The 118th Congress, we are so proud to be in a House Republican Majority, but I am personally proud that America elected the highest number of Republican women ever," Stefanik said at Thursday's press conference. "They are strong leaders in our Conference and, particularly on important days like today, we are so grateful for their effective advocacy to get this bill across the finish line. Today, we will pass this historic legislation to protect women and girls in sports. Thank you so much to the incredible work."
"I know that there are so many personal stories, and in addition to these wonderful women members of Congress, we have tremendous women athletes who are here with us today, who have talked about the unfairness when it comes to biological males competing in women’s sports," she added. "If you talk to women leaders today, so many had opportunities when it came to sports growing up. I myself played varsity lacrosse, I also rowed crew in high school. To have that opportunity to learn leadership, to learn discipline, to learn teamwork is so, so important. This is about protecting women’s sports, now and into the future. We anticipate this will be passed today. It is a winning issue across America -- standing up for the future of women and girls."
GOP MOVES TO ‘SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS': BILL BACKED BY RILEY GAINES HEADED FOR HOUSE VOTE
Several GOP members blasted the administration's agenda to allow transgender females to compete against biological women as backwards.
"Who would have thought all these years later, we would have our Democratic women colleagues, join with a male president, who is fighting against women's rights?" Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., said at Thursday's press conference. "This is outrageous. This is crazy. This is dangerous. This needs to stop."
At a recent hearing for the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, Foxx garnered some attention for declaring there's "no way" to change one's biological sex.
"There's not a good definition of what a transgender girl is," Foxx expanded to Fox Digital. "One cannot change one's gender. It's not possible to do. Certainly people can change what they say about who they identify as, but they cannot change their gender. So the term ‘transgender’ is ridiculous. It's just ridiculous. You can't go from one gender to another."
Foxx mused why the idea of there being two biological genders now seems out of the mainstream.
"The Democrats pretend to be the party of science," she added. "But to just completely dismiss science makes no sense. Why is it a farfetched idea? Partly because the media keeps using the term and acting like it means something."
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also highlighted the dangers of letting biological males compete against women, sharing how she was raped multiple times as a teenager.
"Before a woman even sets foot in a locker room," she said. "Before she even sets foot on the court, before she ever dives from the first swim meet, she's already in a vulnerable position. And we need to protect our women and girls in sports because of these vulnerabilities."
Mace said she'd be "remiss" if she didn't drop some expletives.
"We've worked too damn hard to put up with the bulls--- of the left that wants to take our achievements away from us," she said.
"I'm a girl mom also, my girl is an athlete," Mace added. "I cannot imagine her having to be put in that position where there is a biological male in her locker room. Or if she's trying to compete for a college scholarship where it gets taken away by a man who's much stronger and much greater physical capabilities than she does. It's complete and total bulls---. It's cruel."
RILEY GAINES ‘AMBUSHED AND PHYSICALLY HIT’ AFTER SAVING WOMEN'S SPORTS SPEECH AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE
Democrats, meanwhile, have blasted the Republican-led bill as "bullying."
"This bill is about bullying children," Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, said. "Stop bullying children."
"House Republicans are choosing to bully and belittle trans children," Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif added. "This is about attacking a small group of children, and it is shameful."
Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie and Peter Kasperowicz contributed to this report.
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