Trump’s bill to ban trans athletes suffers a setback as Democrat Senators vote against it

Senate Democrats united to block a bill that would have barred transgender female athletes from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, delivering a setback to Republicans who have pushed for a ban since President Trump’s re-election.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act needed 60 votes to clear the Senate’s legislative filibuster, but could only manage 51 — all from Republicans.

Another 45 Democrats and Democrat-aligned independents voted to block the bill, with four lawmakers absent.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women's or girls' sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, February 5, 2025, in Washington.

The bill would have enshrined Title IX protections “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” rather than allowing athletes to compete based on their gender identity.

Polls show a majority of Americans are against allowing trans female athletes to compete with biological girls and women — primarily on grounds of fairness and safety.

“This doesn’t have to be a Republican or Democratic issue,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the bill’s sponsor in the upper chamber and a former college football coach. “This is about standing up for girls and women, which I know my Democratic colleagues also care about.”

“Girls should not have to compete in sporting events that are stacked against them,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote on X ahead of the vote. “Women deserve their athletic opportunities that are not taken away by biological males, who have their own spaces to compete.”

Sen. Ashley Moody also hit out at Democrats for stopping the bill in its tracks.

“A majority of Americans want to keep men out of women’s sports—but the Left is actively working against the will of the people,” she wrote in a fiery post on X Tuesday.

“If last night showed us anything, it’s that the Republican Party is the party of women.”

Last month, Trump signed an executive order meant to keep biological men out of women’s sports through Title IX, applying pressure to schools by threatening to pull federal funds for those that fail to comply.

“From now on, women’s sports will be only for women,” Trump said during the Feb. 5 signing ceremony, flanked by female athletes of all ages in the East Room of the White House.

Following Trump’s order, the NCAA announced that it had barred transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, with organization president Charlie Baker praising the directive for providing a “clear, national standard” as opposed to a “patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions.”

In January, two Democrats joined 216 House Republicans in voting for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which stated that schools receiving federal funds would violate the law if they “permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.”

Democrats who opposed the measure accused Republicans of waging a culture war by stigmatizing transgender youths.

“What Republicans are doing today,” Sen. Brian Schatz said ahead of the vote, “is inventing a problem to stir up a culture war and divide people against each other.”

In December, Baker told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he knew of “less than 10” transgender student-athletes out of the 510,000 who compete for NCAA member schools.