Senate Dems Again Kill Provision to Ban Biological Boys from Girls’ Sports

Senate Democrats once again united to block a Republican-backed amendment aimed at preserving fairness in women’s and girls’ athletics, rejecting the measure along party lines in a 49-41 vote on Saturday.

The proposal—offered as an amendment to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act—fell short of the 60 votes required to advance, marking the fourth time Democrats have opposed identical legislation designed to prevent biological males from competing in female sports categories.

Known as the Protection for Women and Girls in Sports Act, the amendment was introduced by Sens. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. The measure would prohibit federally funded schools and programs from allowing biological males who identify as transgender to compete in women’s sports.

Republicans brought the amendment forward at the request of President Donald J. Trump, who—now serving his second term—has made protecting women’s sports a key priority, alongside securing election integrity through voter ID requirements included in the SAVE America Act.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Tuberville expressed frustration with the repeated Democratic opposition.

“This is the fourth time that I’ve had this bill on the floor. I’ll continue to try until I’m gone,” Tuberville said. “Every time that we’ve voted on this, I have not got one single Democrat to vote for it.”

That includes figures often portrayed as moderates, such as Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Notably, public opinion appears to diverge sharply from the Democratic position, with roughly 80 percent of Americans supporting restrictions that ensure women’s sports remain limited to biological females.

Tuberville emphasized the real-world consequences for female athletes.

“How about the trophies and awards that are stolen from young girls and ladies that work all their life to win a game or a sport … and they lose to somebody that’s much more physical, bigger, stronger and faster?” he added.

Blackburn echoed those concerns, calling the situation “disgusting” and pointing to high-profile examples like swimmer Lia Thomas, who transitioned from competing on the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s team to winning a national title in women’s competition.

“Thank goodness President Donald Trump has tried to chase away some of the adverse actions against Title IX that were carried out during the Biden Administration,” Blackburn said. “When women would be forced to share a locker room with guys because the guy decided he was going to claim to be a female so he could compete…

“The guy couldn’t win in the guys’ category so they claimed to be women so they could take away that trophy, so they can take away that scholarship from young women. I think that’s disgusting,” she continued.

Republicans argue that the Democratic Party’s stance reflects a broader pattern of prioritizing ideological agendas over the interests of women and girls, despite decades of rhetoric surrounding women’s rights and equality.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, a former college athlete, underscored the fairness issue at stake.

“This is about fairness, and it’s about preserving a level playing field for women and girls who have worked hard, trained hard, and deserve the chance to compete on equal terms. Biological women competing alongside biological men is anything but fair,” Capito said.

Meanwhile, polling continues to show overwhelming support for another key Republican priority: voter identification. According to new data from pollster Frank Luntz, 80 percent of black voters and 77 percent of Hispanic voters support requiring a valid photo ID to vote. Overall, about 80 percent of Americans back such measures—including a majority of Democrats—suggesting broad bipartisan agreement despite continued resistance from party leadership in Washington.

Even so, Senate Democrats have consistently blocked GOP-led efforts to implement nationwide voter ID requirements for federal elections.