House Republicans pass bill to ban trans women and girls from school sports

House Republicans pushed through sweeping legislation on Tuesday to block transgender women and girls from school sports, escalating a fierce culture-war battle that puts federal education dollars on the line.

The bill passed 218-206 in a vote that saw two Texas Democrats break ranks to support the Republican measure. It marks the first standalone federal legislation targeting transgender rights to clear either chamber of Congress.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act would rewrite Title IX rules to define sex as “reproductive biology and genetics at birth” – effectively banning transgender athletes from competing on teams matching their gender identity at any school receiving federal funding.

“All throughout humanity, we have recognized as a species that there are women and there are men, as God created, who are obviously biologically different,” said bill sponsor and Florida representative Greg Steube.

The vote comes just months after the Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride made history as the first transgender person elected to Congress. Republicans have already moved to restrict bathroom access in the Capitol building – a move widely seen as targeting McBride.

But with Republicans controlling 53 Senate seats, the bill still needs significant Democratic support to clear the 60-vote threshold.

The bill passage also leaves question marks on congressional funding for natural disaster response for southern California, which is still fighting historically destructive blazes as the issue becomes entangled in broader political maneuvering.

Nearly two dozen House Republicans, including key appropriators and caucus leaders, attended a Sunday strategy session at Trump’s Florida estate, where discussions centered on using desperately needed wildfire relief funds – aimed at combating what is projected to be one of America’s costliest natural disasters – as leverage in looming debt ceiling talks.

More than 400 civil rights organizations have condemned the legislation, saying it represents an unprecedented federal intrusion into school sports that could trigger widespread investigations into students’ private medical information. Republican sponsors say it is needed to “preserve Title IX’s original intent”, though states have struggled to come up with a path forward on it.

In 2023, Florida school officials abandoned a proposal to track students’ menstrual cycles following intense public backlash.

The Department of Education would oversee the rules, but although supporters say checking birth certificates would be enough, critics argue the bill does not explain how schools should actually verify students’ sex.

“There is no enforcement mechanism in this bill,” New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. “And when there is no enforcement mechanism, you open the door for every enforcement mechanism.”