United States House of Representatives first bill passed On Tuesday, the 119th Congress voted in favor of the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act.

All Republican representatives voted in favor of the bill, but only two Democrats — Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vincent Gonzalez, D-Texas Vicente Gonzales voted to pass the bill. 206 buildings remaining Democrats all Voted no. Democratic Rep. Don Davis voted “present.”

After the bill passed, Republican congressional representatives and women’s rights advocates condemned Democrats who voted against the bill at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said it was “shameful” that only two Democrats voted to pass the bill.

“We have two Democrats joining us, but it’s disgraceful and there should be many, many more. In fact, I think every member of this body voted for common sense and to protect women. But for some reason, I thought, They chose not to do that for political purposes,” Johnson said.

“The American people sent a clear message in November that they want us to return to common sense, but some friends in the other party appear to be ignoring that plea.”

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Mike Johnson raised his gavel after being re-elected as Speaker of the 119th Congress on January 3, 2025 at the U.S. Capitol on the first day of the 119th Congress. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, a prominent advocate for female athlete rights who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA over its stance on allowing transgender athletes to compete as women, also lambasted 206 Democrats voted against the bill.

Gaines took aim at Democrats who opposed the new law on the grounds that it would subject young girls to vetting for athletic eligibility.

“We hear about things like genital examinations, we hear about girls being asked to show what’s in their underwear, we hear about them having to show their internal and external anatomy, examinations, Taliban-style enforcers, hired predators to top Law enforcement and all that, weird intimidation of predators, but that’s what Democrats do best,” Gaines said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem JeffriesNew York state Democrats posted on Bluesky on Tuesday criticizing the legislation and baselessly claiming the law would “unleash horrific child predators on girls and young women.”

Jeffries’ office has yet to provide a substantive explanation of how the law would do this. When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson just saying“The post speaks for itself.”

Gaines also criticized those who say the bill is a “waste of time.”

“I heard this bill was a waste of time, and let me tell you the message I got when I heard the news, it was that I was wasting my time. Girls across the country, just like me, were wasting their time.” Except for two Aside from your daughter, your daughter is a waste of time to all House Democrats. ”

Riley Gaines, now a spokesperson for the Independent Women’s Forum, tied for fifth place with Lia Thomas in the 200-meter freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in March 2022. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., who reintroduced the bill in the House after a failed attempt to pass it in 2023, noted Democrats’ failure to support and celebrate transgender participation in women’s sports. Record.

“Democrats have been trying for years to allow biological (males) to participate in women’s colleges in our country,” Staub said.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that we actually have to pass a bill that only women can play women’s sports!”

The Biden administration, along with other Democrats, has taken sweeping action over the past four years to allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s and girls’ sports.

On January 20, 2021, just hours after President Biden was inaugurated, he released executive order Regarding “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.”

The order includes a section that states: “Children should be able to learn without having to worry about whether they will be denied access to bathrooms, locker rooms, or school sports.”

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Some on the left are calling for an end to efforts at trans inclusion. (Mark Collison/Getty Images)

Biden issued a sweeping rule in April clarifying that Title IX’s prohibition on “sex” discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and “pregnancy or related conditions.” The government insists the rule does not address athlete qualifications. But many experts present evidence told Fox News Digital in June that more biological males will eventually be allowed to participate in women’s sports.

Democrats have also introduced other federal legislation that would allow more transgender people to participate in women’s sports. These include Equality ActThe bill, introduced in 2019 and now amended, “would force public schools to allow male athletes who biologically identify as transgender to join women’s sports teams.”

In March 2023, Democrats advocated for a transgender rights bill, proposing a resolution “Recognize that it is the responsibility of the federal government to develop and implement a transgender rights bill.” resolution Specifically calling for federal laws to ensure biological males can “participate in team sports and events that best match their gender identity; (and) use school facilities that best match their gender identity.”

However, those positions appear to have backfired in the November election, with Trump and Republicans targeting Democratic opponents with television ads touting their support for transgender inclusion.

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one national exit poll The Focus on American Women (CW) Legislative Action Committee found that 70% of moderate voters see “Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men participating in girls’ and women’s sports and transgender boys and men’s use of girls’ and women’s sports” as an issue . “Bathroom” is equally important to them. Six percent said it was the most important issue, and 44 percent said it was “very important.”

“This is an opportunity to turn a new chapter, put aside party politics, and finally put people before politics in Washington. But unfortunately, this is still an almost entirely partisan vote, with only two Democrats willing to confirm and protect Section 1 Nine protections,” CWA legislator strategist Macy Petty told Fox Digital News.

“This vote is not about some complex policy issue, but about self-evident truths that civilization has recognized since the beginning of time. As we have witnessed, women and girls face devastating consequences when left behind The consequences require moral clarity to correct, and that becomes even more difficult here in Washington.”

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