The House passed the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act," which could change Title IX protections and ensure only biological females participate in women and girls athletics, on Tuesday on a vote of 218-206-1.
Two Democrats voted in favor of the House GOP's signature legislation: Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez. North Carolina Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat, voted present. The three bucked House Democratic leadership in doing so.
Rep. Henry Cuellar is pictured as the House of Representatives meets to elect a speaker and convene the new 119th Congress at the Capitol, Jan. 3, 2025.
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Rep. Vicente Gonzalez walks down the House steps after a vote in the Capitol, Sept. 15, 2022.
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Republicans are now touting this bill as bipartisan even though only two Democrats crossed the aisle to vote in favor of the bill.
"Today was an improvement. It's bipartisan," Johnson said about the bill at his victory presser. "We had two Democrats join us."
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education programs. The landmark legislation led by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., ensures that biological females are protected in women's sports that are operated, sponsored or facilitated by a recipient of federal funding.
"Men have no place in women's sports," Steube wrote in a statement. "Republicans have promised to protect women's sports, and under President Trump's leadership, we will fulfill this promise."
Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson speaks during a press conference at the Capitol, Jan. 14, 2025.
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Steube's bill aims to ensure schools comply with a person's "reproductive" biology and genetics at birth, according to the bill. Therefore, if signed into law, it will be a violation for a man to participate in an athletic program that is intended for women or girls. If the House bill passes tomorrow, it could make its way to the Republican-held Senate and be ready to sign for President-elect Donald Trump when he returns to office this month. However, its unclear if the Senate will have the votes to pass the bill, even with its slim majority.
Critics have said they believe the GOP has undertaken an anti-transgender agenda fueling culture wars in American education. Twenty-five states already have laws banning transgender student-athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
The bill was a pipe dream for years when Democrats were in control of Washington. In 2023, under Republican control in the House, the same bill passed 219-203 on a party-line vote -- but was never taken up in the Senate. The House then passed Rep. Mary Miller's Congressional Review Act in 2024 as conservatives pledged to "roll back" President Joe Biden's expansions to Title IX, which ensured protections for transgender people. The resolution would have nullified the Biden-Harris administration's Title IX rule.
Meanwhile, protecting women and girls in sports, parents' rights and other education policies taken up in the House became winning issues on Trump's legislative agenda during the 2024 election cycle. Taking after former House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, newly elected Chairman Tim Walberg said men competing against women in sports "jeopardizes competition and fair play."
"Rep. Steube's Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act will help stop attempts to include biological males in girls' and women's sports, ensuring fairness and a level playing field," Walberg wrote in a statement championing the bill.