DEM DRAMA

AOC Blasts Democrat Defections on GOP Bill to Ban Trans Women and Girls from School Sports

“Trump hasn’t even been sworn in yet, and if a little bitty sports bill was gonna make Dems defect, we’re not in good shape,” said the New York lawmaker.

Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) worried Tuesday that defections from the Democratic House caucus on a GOP bill to ban transgender women and girls from school sports is a sign that her party is “not in good shape” to fend off a Republican legislative agenda.

“We can’t be ninnies about this,” Ocasio-Cortez told The Independent. “These are just the early days. Trump hasn’t even been sworn in yet, and if a little bitty sports bill was gonna make Dems defect, we’re not in good shape.”

‘CULTURE WARS’

Nancy Mace Immediately Picks Fight With New Trans Colleague

William Vaillancourt

The House voted 218-206 Tuesday to amend Title IX, the law banning sex-based discrimination, to define “sex” as pertaining to “a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both conservative Democrats from Texas, supported the Republican measure. Not one Democrat voted for the proposal when it was first debated in 2023.

House Leader Mike Johnson (R-KY) commands the slimmest majority in the chamber in nearly a century, meaning a single defection from Democrats could tip the balance in favor of Republican legislation.

If it becomes law, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act will essentially ban transgender athletes from participating in sports competitions for their gender identity at schools that receive federal funding.

The bill faces an unclear path in the Senate, where Republicans would need seven Democratic defectors to get to the 60 votes needed to pass.

Its legislative prospects may not matter: President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to roll back transgender rights when he takes office and stated during the campaign that he could enforce a sports ban with executive powers.

His transition team is also reportedly weighing whether to issue an executive order that would discharge all transgender service members from the U.S. military.

VERSION 2.0

Trump’s Plan to Banish Transgender Troops From the Military

David Thompson

A Trump spokesperson told defense news site Military.com that “no decisions on this issue have been made” and said sources who spoke to media about a potential military ban “have no idea what they are actually talking about.”

Trump banned transgender troops during his first term in office, which President Joe Biden reversed.

Republican legislators moved to restrict transgender persons’ access to bathrooms in the Capitol building after Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) became the first transgender person elected to Congress.

Ocasio-Cortez told reporters that, rather than cowering to Republican attacks against them for supporting transgender people, Democrats should retaliate by going on the offensive on issues to build popular support.

To that end, several Democrats in the House said they voted against the Republican bill because it would potentially subject girls to genital inspections, creating opportunities for abusive predators.

“This bill would empower child predators to inspect genitalia of young women,” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) told The Independent. “And so, to protect children, we got to make sure to vote against it.”

“When we show people how a bill like this doesn’t just hurt trans girls—which is a problem—it hurts all girls, and when we show that a bunch of men who are letting women die in parking lots should not be trusted, it’s like letting foxes into the henhouse, when we call it out aggressively, we’re able to bring people together," said Ocasio-Cortez.

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