— The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican bill that would ban transgender women and girls from competing in women’s and girls’ sports in schools, delivering at least a short-term victory for conservatives. The House passed the bill 219-203, but it has little chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
President Joe Biden also spoke out against the bill, calling it discriminatory and vowing to veto it if necessary. Still, the vote was a victory for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who hopes to retain his narrow Republican majority as the fight looms over raising the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and funding the federal government.
If passed by Congress, the bill would change the civil rights law known as Title IX to require that a student’s sex be “based on an individual’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” Enacted in 1972, Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational programs or activities that receive federal funding. The title was created to ensure equal opportunity and open the door for more women to participate in sports. The White House said earlier this week that the Republican bill would deny transgender students the right to participate in sports, even in elementary school.
