Many House Democrats hoped they could show their commitment to protecting the LGBTQ+ community through a vote Tuesday on a sports bill targeting trans athletes. While most of the caucus voted no, two House Democrats sided with Republicans to back the bill.
The legislation — Rep. Greg Steube’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act — was the first test of whether Democrats will change course after many of them were silent on Republican attacks on trans people ahead of the 2024 election. Democrats had predicted that a majority of the caucus would oppose the bill, which they unanimously voted against in 2023. (Ten Democrats did not vote at the time.)
“We’re going to use every tool that we have to make sure that we’re fighting for the rights of LGBTQ. We didn’t do a good enough job during the election season conveying our message that we’re in this fight for them,” Rep. Lori Trahan, a member of House Democratic leadership, told NOTUS ahead of the vote.