The U.S. Senate has voted against advancing a bill that, if passed, would have prohibited school athletic programs from allowing men who identify as female to compete in women’s sports.
Senate Bill 9, also known as the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, received a vote of 51-45 on Monday evening on whether to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed with the bill. It needed at least 60 votes to get cloture.
Invoking cloture would have limited debate on the bill, thus preventing a filibuster or other ways of delaying a final vote on the proposed legislation.
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In a floor debate held before the vote, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., opposed the legislation, saying she was against “any attempt by the federal government to meddle in decisions about who can and cannot participate in school sports.”
“This is a decision for local communities where players and parents can participate in that discussion,” Baldwin said. “This is a decision for sports leagues to thoughtfully craft policy that actually take seriously what is best for all players, not blanket mandates that will undoubtedly have unintended consequences.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who sponsored SB 9, argued that the proposed law was necessary because “women’s sports at all levels has been under attack.”
“Since the beginning of time, people have agreed that sex is assigned at birth and determined by God,” Tuberville continued. “But under the Biden administration, you had people claiming that men can get pregnant.”
“We have women’s teams in some states that are all boys … no opportunities for girls or women to participate on the team. Young women have been forced to compete against men and even share locker rooms and shower time. And on top of that, your taxpayer dollars are paying for it.”
In January, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill in a vote of 218-206 with all Republicans and two Democrats — Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez — voting in favor.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters at a press conference held shortly after the lower chamber vote that “we know from Scripture and from nature that men are men and women are women and men cannot become women.”
In recent years, there has been considerable controversy over trans-identified male athletes dominating several women’s sports and major athletic competitions.
A prominent example is Lia (Will) Thomas, a man who broke records when he was allowed to compete on the University of Pennsylvania women’s swimming team after competing on the men’s swimming team for three years with less success.
Last month, the National Collegiate Athletics Association announced a new policy prohibiting trans-identified male athletes from competing in women’s sports, reversing an earlier standard.
The NCAA’s new policy came after President Donald Trump issued an executive order vowing to end federal funds to schools that allow males to participate on women’s athletic teams.
