Senate Blocks GOP-Led Bill Banning Transgender Athletes From Women’s Sports

The bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance, as senators voted 51-45 along party lines.

The Capitol on March 3, 2025. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo

Senate Democrats on Monday rejected a bill that would have banned individuals who identify as transgender from participating in school athletic programs designated for girls and women.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, sponsored by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance as senators voted along party lines in a 51-45 vote.

The bill aimed to preserve Title IX protections for women, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools and educational programs that receive federal funds.

It sought to bar federally-funded schools from operating, sponsoring, or facilitating athletic programs that allow athletes “whose biological sex at birth was male” to compete with women, according to the bill’s summary.

The bill defines sex as being determined “solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

Tuberville criticized Democratic senators for blocking the legislation, saying the vote has shown that “Democrats STILL support men competing in women’s sports.”

“Well, at least now the American people know the truth,” he stated on the social media platform X. “This is far from over. I’ll NEVER stop fighting to protect women and girls.”

The bill would have codified President Donald Trump’s executive order, entitled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which enables federal agencies to rescind funding from educational programs that allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.

“It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy,” the order states. “It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”

The White House had previously stated that it “strongly supports” the passage of Tuberville’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act in Congress.

“Through an amendment to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, this bill would expressly recognize what is already federal law—that it is an illegal act of discrimination for a man to participate in a federally funded athletic program or activity designated for women or girls,” the White House said in a March 3 statement.

The administration stated that “men participating in women’s sports not only is demeaning and dangerous to women and girls, but it erodes the integrity of our Nation’s civil rights laws.”

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who co-sponsored the bill, said in a statement on Monday that she was disappointed with the Senate’s decision to block the bill.

“I am disappointed that the Senate failed to move forward on this commonsense bill,” she said. “I will continue to fight to provide girls and women the opportunity to compete safely in sports for generations to come.”

Some advocacy groups have welcomed the Senate’s decision to reject the bill. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a statement that the bill was “part of a sweeping effort to push transgender people out of public life altogether.”

Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, stated that such legislation could lead to transgender children being denied opportunities in schools.

“We should want all of our kids to have the chance to be on a team, problem solve with others, learn valuable skills, and find places to belong,” she stated. “Thank you to the leaders who stood up today, pushed back against those playing politics with young people’s lives, and declared that ours should be a nation where every child feels valued.”

Trump also signed several orders to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government. One order declares that the federal government would recognize only two immutable sexes: male and female.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.