An attempt by Republicans to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports has been blocked by Democrats in the Senate. With Republicans unable to overcome a potential Democratic filibuster against the legislation, the bill has stalled in Congress. But the political and legislative battle over trans rights is far from over.
Democrats filibuster trans athlete bill
Senate Democrats successfully filibustered the Protection of Women and Girls Act, a Republican-led effort to ban trans athletes from women’s and girls’ sports at schools that receive federal funding by cutting off federal money to schools that did not comply. The final vote for the act was 51-45, falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. Four senators — two Democrats and two Republicans — did not vote. The legislation had been introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., a former coach of a high school girls’ basketball team, who vowed to “NEVER stop fighting to protect women and girls” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Well, at least now the American people know the truth.
Even after @realdonaldtrump’s landslide election, Democrats STILL support men competing in women’s sports.
This is far from over. I’ll NEVER stop fighting to protect women and girls.
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) March 4, 2025
The vote was along party lines, with Republicans voting for the bill and Democrats voting against it. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, known for breaking with her party on other issues, supported the bill, saying, “I just think this is a matter of fairness, safety and giving girls and young women the opportunity to excel in sports” and citing Title IX as justification for the bill. Meanwhile, Democrat Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who has leaned to the right since being elected, voted against the bill. Fetterman told those interested in his stance to “watch my vote, and then you can extrapolate whether I’m worried about that s**t or not.”
Republicans see political gain; Democrats see distraction
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act has become a key and politically charged part of the Republican agenda. A version of the bill passed the House of Representatives in January, and it reflects an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that similarly calls for a ban against trans athletes in women’s and girls’ sports. More than two dozen states have passed similar K-12 or collegiate bans, according to The New York Times. Republicans believe these bans are politically popular, citing polls showing that most Americans, including Democrats, support these restrictions. Trump has made these bans part of a larger agenda of rolling back rights for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals, such as issuing an executive order that limits federal recognition to only male and female genders.
Democrats, meanwhile, see the bans as unfair to trans athletes and an attempt to single them out and exaggerate their presence in sports as a means of scoring political points and distracting from more pressing issues. They cite statistics that show that less than 10 NCAA athletes identify as transgender out of a total of more than 500,000. Democrats have also warned that the vagueness of the proposed bans could subject women and girls to intrusive physical examinations, and they argue that concerns about fairness should be decided by the governing agencies of sports leagues and organizations, not legislators.
For now, the Democratic minority in the Senate has successfully pushed back against this part of the GOP agenda. But the rhetoric of Republicans like Tuberville, Trump’s track record and the popularity of athletic bans all indicate that the political debate over trans rights is far from over.
