Biden drops bid to force transgender-identifying boys onto girls’ teams 

The Biden administration has suddenly abandoned its longtime effort to force schools to allow trans-identifying boys to compete in girls’ sports.

The White House announced plans to withdraw the relevant pending rules across various state agencies, which it cannot finalize before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.

In reality, the administration is pulling the proposed rules back to prevent the incoming Trump administration from quickly re-writing them upon taking office.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, criticized Biden for it and said his administration did it to hurt Trump. Leavitt told ESPN Biden was “adding more red tape and making it more difficult for him to govern.” 

The Department of Education also withdrew its proposal due to ongoing litigation involving Title IX that may determine how schools should handle gender identity issues, according to ESPN. Additionally, the department received over 150,000 public comments with different viewpoints, which the Department of Education said warrants further review. 

The Biden administration proposed its transgender athlete regulation in 2023. However, the administration delayed the controversial regulation several times. 

The rule would have prevented states and schools from enacting total bans on boys in girls’ sports, while allowing them to create restrictions based on fairness and injury risks.  

The position faced backlash from conservatives and liberals alike, who argued it either went too far or did not go far enough, depending on their viewpoint. 

If the Biden administration finalized the proposal, conservative organizations would have sued to overturn it. A Title IX regulation the Biden administration finalized in April already has faced opposition in a 26-state lawsuit. 

This also comes as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently filed a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging it misleads people by marketing events as women’s sports while allowing males to compete against women. 

In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to prevent males who identify as transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports at federally supported schools. The bill, known as the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, passed along party lines, with Republicans supporting it and Democrats opposing it. 

The bill never came up for a vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Biden said he would veto it if it came to his desk anyway. 

In the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election, even a couple Democratic congressmen have signaled support for getting males out of female sports, including Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, and Tom Suozzi, D-New York.  

The country will likely see heightened federal efforts to bar males from competing in female sports next year as Republicans will control the House, Senate and presidency. Trump has repeatedly promised to get men out of women’s sports in his second term.