Two Texas Democrats vote with Republicans to ban transgender athletes

Texas Democrats Vicente Gonzalez (left) and Henry Cuellar (right) were the only two Democrats who voted in favor of a bill banning transgender athletes in women's sports.

Two Texas Democrats were members of the party to vote to ban transgender athletes in girls' sports.

Reps. Vicente Gonzalez (D-McAllen) and Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) were the only two Democrats to vote yes on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.

What's in the Bill?

What we know:

The bill would withhold Title IX funding from schools that allow transgender athletes to participate in women's sports.

Title IX is a federal program that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded schools and activities.

The bill would define the sex of athletes as their biological sex at birth.

Additionally, the bill would ask the Government Accountability Office to issue a report on the benefits of single-sex sports for women that the bill's author said would be lost because of male participation.

The report "must document the negative psychological, developmental, participatory, and sociological effects of male participation on girls."

The bill would not prevent males from training and practicing with women and girls "as long as such training or practice does not deprive any female of corresponding opportunities or benefits."

By the numbers:

The bill passed on a 218-206 vote with six Democrats and 3 Republicans not voting and Rep. Donald Davis (D-N.C.) voting present.

It is now going to the senate.

What they're saying:

Gonzalez released a statement after the vote saying Democrats should not be afraid to vote how their district would like.

"I believe that there should be rules to keep our sports fair and that boys should not play in girls sports. Members of Congress must have the freedom to vote in a manner representative of their district," Gonzalez said. "As Democrats, we should not be afraid to vote our district’s values because we're afraid of Washington. When I first ran for Congress, I said I would bring South Texas values to Washington, not the other way around. That’s why I voted to support H.R. 28.  Now I look forward to working with all of my colleagues in this Congress to lower the high cost of living and create economic opportunities for my district." 

Who are Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar?

Gonzalez and Cuellar are two of just a handful of Democrats elected in districts that were won by Donald Trump during the 2024 election.

Gonzalez is serving his fifth term in the House and represents Hidalgo, Cameron, Kenedy, Kleberg and Willacy counties.

Cuellar is in his 11th term as a representative in the 28th Congressional District.

The district covers Guadalupe, Bexar, Atascosa, McMullen, Jim Hogg, Duval, Webb, Zapata and Starr counties.

The Source: Information in this article comes from the U.S. House of Representatives and Reps. Cuellar and Gonzalez.

PoliticsTexasLGBTQEducation