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GOP lawmakers, Riley Gaines slam Democrats for voting against Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act

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The U.S. House of Representatives passed its first bill of the 119th Congress on Tuesday, voting in favor of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. 

Every Republican representative voted in favor of the bill, but only two Democrats, Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas, voted to pass it. The remaining 206 House Democrats all voted against. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., voted "present."

After the bill was passed, Republican congressional representatives and women's rights advocates condemned the Democrats who voted against it in a press conference on Capitol Hill. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said it was "shameful" that only two Democrats voted to pass the bill. 

"We had two Democrats join us, but it's shameful, there should be many, many more. In fact, I argue that every member of this body voted for common sense and to protect women. But for some reason, for politics I guess, they chose not to," Johnson said. 

"The American people sent a clear message in November, they want us to return to common sense, but it seems that some of our friends in the other party are ignoring that plea."

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Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, a prominent advocate for women athletes' rights who leads a lawsuit against the NCAA for its stance in allowing trans athletes to compete as women, also lambasted the 206 Democrats who voted against the bill. 

Gaines took aim at the Democrats who argued against the new law on the basis that it would result in young girls being examined for sports eligibility. 

"We heard of things like genital exams, we heard that girls would be asked to show what's in their underwear, we heard that they would have to show internal and external anatomy, inspections, Taliban-like enforcers, hire predators to peak at enforcers on and on and on, weird fearmongering about predators, but that's what Democrats do best," Gaines said. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sent a post on Bluesky criticizing the legislation on Tuesday, making unsubstantiated claims that the law would "unleash horrific child predators on girls and young women." 

Jeffries' office has not offered a substantial explanation as to how the law would do this. When asked for comment by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson only said, "The post speaks for itself."

Gaines also criticized those who said the bill was "a waste of time."-

"I heard that this bill is a waste of time, and let me tell you the message I received when I heard that, it's that I am a waste of time. Girls around the country, just like me, are a waste of time. Your daughters are a waste of time to all House Democrats except for two." 

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., who re-introduced the bill in the House after a failed attempt to pass it in 2023, pointed out Democrats' track record of enabling and celebrating trans inclusion in women's sports. 

"The Democrats have, for years, tried to allow biological [men] to compete in our nation's women's collegiate activities," Steube said. 

"It's absolutely absurd that we actually have to pass a bill that says only women can be in women's sports!" 

The Biden administration, alongside other Democrats, has taken sweeping actions over the last four years to enable trans athletes in women's and girls' sports. 

On Jan. 20, 2021, just hours after President Biden assumed office, he issued an executive order on "Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation." 

This order included a section that read, "Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports." 

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Biden issued a sweeping rule that clarified that Title IX’s ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions," in April. The administration insisted the regulation does not address athletic eligibility. However, multiple experts presented evidence to Fox News Digital in June that it would ultimately put more biological men in women's sports. 

Democrats have proposed other federal legislation that would allow for more transgender inclusion in women's sports. These include the Equality Act, which was proposed in 2019 and has seen revisions that "would force public schools to allow biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls’ sports teams."

In March 2023, Democrats advocated for a transgender bill of rights, proposing a resolution "recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights." The resolution specifically called for federal law to ensure that biological men can "participate in sports on teams and in programs that best align with their gender identity; [and] use school facilities that best align with their gender identity."

However, those stances appeared to backfire in the November election, as Trump and Republicans pounded Democratic opponents with TV advertisements about their support for trans inclusion. 

A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America (CW) legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls' and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls' and women’s bathrooms" as important to them. And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."

"This was an opportunity to turn a new leaf, leave party politics behind to finally prioritize people over Washington politics. But unfortunately, it remained nearly a complete party vote, with only two Democrats willing to affirm and protect Title IX’s protections," CWA legislative strategist Macy Petty told Fox News Digital. 

"This vote was not about some complicated policy issue, but a self-evident truth that civilization has recognized since Creation. When abandoned, as we’ve witnessed, women and girls face devastating consequences that require moral clarity to correct. And that’s been harder and harder to come by here in Washington."

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