Senate Democrats Block Bill to Save Women’s Sports

by Zachary Mettler | March 6, 2025 | Government Updates

Senate Democrats have blocked a bill that would have ensured only girls and women participate in female athletic programs.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 (S.9) failed in a 51-45 vote on Monday. The bill failed along partisan lines, with all present Democrat senators voting against the legislation, and all present Republican senators voting in favor of the bill. The bill needed 60 votes to break the filibuster.

The U.S. House of Representatives had passed the legislation on January 14 in a 218-206 vote with bipartisan support.

The legislation would have “prohibit[ed] school athletic programs from allowing individuals whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs that are for women or girls.”

Specifically, the bill stipulated,

It is a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for federally funded education programs or activities to operate, sponsor, or facilitate athletic programs or activities that allow individuals of the male sex to participate in programs or activities that are designated for women or girls.

Unfortunately, many Democrat senators put ideology and party politics over the safety of their own daughters and granddaughters.

Conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey pointed out an absurd fact: “33 of the 45 Democrats who voted against the Protection of Women & Girls in Sports Act have daughters or granddaughters.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune gave a statement after the Senate’s vote, saying,

I think it’s a huge disservice and incredibly unfair to girls and women across this country who [should] have an opportunity to compete on a level playing field and then get chances to get college scholarships and everything that comes with that.

You can watch the rest of his statement below:

Kirsten Waggoner, President of Alliance Defending Freedom, also released a statement after the Senate’s vote. She pointed out that while 79% of Americans support protecting women’s sports, only 51% of U.S. Senators voted to do so.

Indeed, according to a newly-released 2025 poll conducted by The New York Times, 79% of Americans say that men “should not” compete in women’s sports. This includes 94% of Republicans, 64% of Independents and even 67% of Democrats.

This is up from a 2023 poll which found that 67% of American voters opposed men playing in women’s sports.

Ryan Bangert, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Special Counsel to the President at Alliance Defending Freedom, also released a video denouncing the Senate’s rejection of the legislation.

Many biological males have competed against women in recent years, stealing their places, awards, opportunities to compete and – worst of all – doing them physical harm.

In his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, President Trump highlighted the story of Payton McNabb, an all-star high school volleyball player whose promising athletic career was ended by a man pretending to be a woman. He smashed a volleyball so hard in her face, he caused her to have a traumatic brain injury, partially paralyzing her right side.

You can watch a brief clip of Payton sharing more of her story below:

On February 5, National Girls and Women in Sports Day, President Trump signed an executive order titled, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

The order makes it the official policy of the United States to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.”

“It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth,” the order states.

While the order is a crucial step in the right direction, any future Democrat president could easily reverse this executive order with another one.

That’s why enacting legislation to protect women’s sports is so important. A congressionally enacted bill, signed by the president, would make such protections far more permanent and could only be repealed by a future act of Congress.

The evidence shows that Christians, conservatives and all people of common sense are winning the argument over women’s sports, even as Democrats in Congress refuse to protect girls and women.

Now is the time to put our collective foot on the gas and continue demanding protections for girls and women. Please consider contacting your state’s senators and respectfully informing them of your opposition to biological males competing in women’s sports.

Related articles and resources:

Senate Set to Vote on Bill that Protects Women’s Sports

House Passes Bill Protecting Women and Girls in Sports

Don’t Let the Media Deceive You About Trump’s Order Protecting Female Athletes

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

Photo from Getty Images.