House Education Chair scolds Biden admin over trans athlete rule: 'Congress makes the law'

WASHINGTON (TND) — An all-female group of GOP lawmakers and athletes convened on Capitol Hill Thursday morning ahead of a full House vote on theProtection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 734), a bill countering the Biden administration's latest Title IX proposal that would allow transgender athletes to — in most cases— compete on athletic teams aligning with their gender identity.

The bill, which passed the Republican-controlled House shortly after the press conference Wednesday morning, would prohibit federally funded school athletic programs from allowing individuals born as males to participate in women's sports. The bill will now head to the Senate, but GOP lawmakers aren't optimistic it will earn enough support from Democrats to pass.

President Joe Biden already said he would veto the measure if it ultimately made it to his desk.

Under the Biden administration'sproposed changesto Title IX, K-8 schools are not allowed to implement outright blanket bans on transgender athletes competing on sports teams that correspond with their preferred gender identity. But, in high school and college, the Department of Education's proposal ostensibly left room for schools "to develop team eligibility criteria that serve important educational objectives, such as ensuring fairness in competition or preventing sports-related injury."

However, in order to implement any restrictions against trans athletes competing in women's sports, a bevy of qualifiers, some which appear to be quite subjective, must be met.

For example, according to the Title IX proposal, restrictions must "not be premised on disapproval of transgender students or a desire to harm a particular student" in order not to be a violation under the newly proposed Title IX rule. Furthermore, certain criteria, including what sport is involved and the level of competition, must also be taken into account.

Additionally, any harms to students who are unable to participate on sports teams that align with their preferred gender identity must be minimized as much as possible.

"The Department loves ambiguity, loves ambiguity, and we have castigated them on many, many occasions on the fact that they put out extraordinarily ambiguous rules," Chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., told The National Desk (TND). "What this does is give enormous power to a man, the Secretary of the Department of Education. He should not have that power, Congress makes the law. We have left, in the past, too much opportunity for administrative officials to write rules to administer the law, but the law about Title IX is pretty darn clear in my opinion. And for the Secretary to say he has the right to make these decisions is ridiculous."

Foxx is not alone in her concerns about the Biden admin's proposed rule being an overreach of the executive branch.

"This proposed rule is an overreach of executive power and an encroachment on federalism," a letter from a coalition of 25 parents' rights organizations and others representing almost 400,000 members stated. "It contradicts existing laws in 20 states that bar biological males from competing in female athletics. The executive branch's explicit invalidation of duly enacted state laws stomps on the will of elected representatives across the country – and if such a sweeping change be desired at the federal level, it should be enacted through Congress and not by administrative fiat."

The coalition letter also charged the Department of Education with "coercing" schools across the nation into allowing biological males to compete on women's sports teams.

The Title IX proposal has earned widespread criticism from both parties, with Republicans insisting the rule fails to protect women's sports. On the other side of the aisle, Democrats insist the proposed rule does not go far enough to protect trans rights.

Foxx blasted her Democratic colleagues Wednesday for claiming to be "the party of science" but completely disregarding the science that men have different biological traits than women that make them more adept at certain physical tasks.

Earlier this week, Foxx got into a tense exchange with Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., arguing "there is no way to change your biological sex."

"Democrats pretend to be the party of science, but to just completely dismiss science makes no sense," Foxx told reporters Wednesday.

The National Desk (TND) reached out to the Department of Education for clarification on how, if the department's proposed rule is approved, it will determine if a restriction preventing a trans athlete from competing with women is a violation of the updated Title IX rule. TND also asked if there will be any warnings for schools who do end up implementing restrictions that the Department of Education deems to be a violation of the updated Title IX rule.

No response was received prior to publication, but if one is obtained, this story will be updated.