Democrats Rail Against "GOP Child Predator Empowerment Act"

Democrats, when faced with the question of banning transgender people from sports, voted against such a ban on near party lines.

Source: CSPAN

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives took one of its first major votes of 2025: a decision on whether transgender people should be banned from participating in sports according to their gender identity and transition status. The far-reaching bill, affecting sports as varied as dancing, darts, and chess, included no enforcement mechanism, raising concerns about invasive investigations such as genital exams for students suspected of being transgender. In response, Democrats unified against the bill, reframing it during debate as the "GOP Child Predator Empowerment Act" to emphasize the dangers of intrusive enforcement and targeting of children. Though the bill ultimately passed the House, the near-party-line Democratic opposition increases the likelihood that it will fail in the Senate, where it faces a steeper filibuster threshold.

The bill itself stipulates that “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” It prohibits transgender female participation by barring “recipients of Federal financial assistance who operate, sponsor, or facilitate athletic programs or activities” from allowing “a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.” If passed, the legislation would result in the immediate outing and exclusion of transgender athletes in sports programs at schools and colleges across the United States. Moreover, it would mark the first instance in recent U.S. law where transgender individuals are explicitly defined as not legally belonging to the gender with which they identify, as recognized by their identification documents and court rulings.

As the bill’s first hearing approached, speculation mounted over how Democrats would respond, particularly in light of their recent vote on the NDAA, which included a provision banning Tricare from covering gender-affirming care for the children of military service members. Those concerns were swiftly put to rest when Congressman Takano took the floor, holding up a sign emblazoned with the words “The GOP Child Predator Empowerment Act.” He declared that the bill “opens the door to invasive physical examination of children who simply want to play softball or basketball,” signaling a unified and pointed Democratic opposition.

What followed was a series of Democratic representatives hammering the same point home with fiery rhetoric. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez railed against the notion that the bill was about protecting women and girls, stating, “Republicans, who have voted consistently against the Violence Against Women Act, who have taken the rights of all women to have control over their own body, who as women are bleeding out in parking lots, now want to pretend today that they care about women… And why? To open up genital inspection on little girls across this country in the name of attacking trans girls. We have two words. Not today.”

You can watch her speech here:

Representative Sarah Jacobs concurred and even pointed to a real world example of invasive investigations on a cisgender girl’s gender identity after being accused of being trans by members of the losing team, stating, "This bill puts all women and girls in danger of sexual abuse. We have already seen an investigation like this at a high school in Utah, and unsurprisingly, they targeted someone who wasn't trans"

Once the hour of debate concluded, the bill narrowly passed with 218 votes, just above the required threshold. Only two Democrats, Representatives Henry Cuellar and Tony Gonzales of Texas, voted in favor of the bill, while Representative Don Davis of North Carolina voted present. These numbers fell far short of the 81 Democrats who supported the NDAA bill, signaling that pressure from LGBTQ+ constituents and advocacy campaigns leading up to the vote may have successfully influenced representatives on this contentious issue. The outcome is promising for the Senate, where Republicans will need at least seven Democratic votes to overcome a filibuster, making it increasingly unlikely that the bill will advance further.

Attacks on transgender people are anticipated to escalate during Trump’s presidency, with the incoming president-elect pledging 100 executive orders on his first day in office. Among these, it is expected that several will target transgender individuals in schools, the military, and potentially in sports. However, by mounting resistance to anti-trans legislation, Democrats may slow the pace of these attacks, creating opportunities to tie them up in court. Importantly, executive orders, while harmful, are generally easier to reverse under future administrations compared to entrenched legislative changes, making this resistance critical for the long-term protection of transgender rights.