Legislation to restrict transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports failed Monday evening to overcome a 60-vote Democratic filibuster in the Senate.
The GOP-led measure, dubbed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, was defeated along party lines 51-45.
The bill previously passed the House and would have withheld federal funding to schools that allow biological men to compete against biological women. Its failure in the Senate was anticipated but marked the latest political clash over a contentious cultural issue that divided Democrats on the 2024 campaign trail while uniting the GOP.
“If the Democrats vote to oppose this legislation, they’ll have to answer to the women and girls they vote to disenfranchise,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said.
Democrats who opposed the measure assailed it as discriminatory and a waste of floor time.
“We’re going to do something totally irrelevant to 99.9% of all people across the country,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said. “What Republicans are doing today is inventing a problem to stir up a culture war and divide people against each other.”
The legislation cleared the Republican-controlled House in January, when just two Democrats crossed the aisle to support it. But even with its failure in Congress, the policies have another avenue to be enacted.
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President Donald Trump, who campaigned heavily on transgender politics, signed an executive order last month that mirrored the bill led by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). In response, the NCAA barred transgender college athletes from participating against women.
Still, the administration is facing resistance. Civil rights groups have mounted a lawsuit over alleged discrimination and Democratic governors are vowing to put up similar legal fights, prompting the administration’s own legal threats from Attorney General Pam Bondi.
