The GOP-led Senate will take up legislation that aims to protect women’s sports leagues by trying to keep male athletes who identify as females from competing.
After journalist Megyn Kelly first broke the news on her podcast, Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-SD) office confirmed to The Daily Wire that the Senate will file cloture on the bill on Thursday. Then, a cloture vote — which requires a two-thirds majority to cap debate ahead of a final vote sometime in the future— is expected Monday.
Called the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” the bill seeks to “provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
If enacted, the bill would amend Section 901 of the Education Amendments of 1972 by adding two provisions to the end:
(1) It shall be a violation of subsection (a) for a recipient of Federal funds who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.
(2) For purposes of this subsection, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who introduced the bill in January, has been joined by Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) and 36 other co-sponsors — all GOP senators. It remains unclear how Democrats and the independents who caucus with them will vote on the legislation. As it stands, the Senate GOP has a 53-47 majority.
“79% of Americans agree: men don’t belong in women’s sports,” Tuberville said in a post to X on Wednesday, citing the findings of a recent New York Times/Ipsos survey. “I hope EVERY SENATOR will join me to PERMANENTLY restore Title IX protections and protect women and girls everywhere.”
Back in January, the GOP-controlled House passed its own version of the “Protection of Women and Girls Act.” That bill, which came from Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), got the support of two Democrats: Reps. Henry Cueller (D-TX) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX).
If enacted, the House bill would “amend the Education Amendments of 1972 to provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of such Act in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” adding language that says it would be a violation for recipients of federal aid to allow a person whose sex is male to participate in a sports program for women or girls.
Also included in the House legislation is a provision directing the comptroller general to conduct a study that would look at “the adverse psychological, developmental, participatory, and sociological results to girls of allowing males to compete, be members of a sports team, or participants in athletic programs, that are designed for girls.”
Opponents argued the House bill would have invasive consequences and is supported by “bigoted folks.”
If the Senate passes its own version of the bill, the House would need to pass it, too. Or both chambers of Congress would have to compromise on legislation that might integrate aspects of each bill.
The House previously passed its version of the bill in 2023 with no Democrat support. However, it never got a vote in the Democrat-led Senate in the last Congress.
Ultimately, a bill that passes both the House and Senate will go to the White House where the president can sign it into law or issue a veto.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February geared toward keeping men out of women’s sports at schools that receive federal funding. In the face of some opposition, Attorney General Pam Bondi has sent letters to officials in Maine, Minnesota, and California, warning the administration “will leverage every legal option necessary to ensure state compliance with federal law and President Trump’s Executive Order protecting women’s sports.”