What Happened?
Senate Democrats boycotted a Sept. 23 hearing on women in sports, leaving their two allotted witness seats empty and refusing to question any of the three witnesses. The Senate Judiciary Committee held the hearing examining women in sports.
The debate over transgender athletes in Senate proceedings is not new. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (PWGSA) stalled earlier this year after a procedural vote to advance it fell 51-45 on March 3, short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. A companion bill, H.R.28, has already passed the House, making the Senate the deciding chamber on whether any federal rule becomes law.
Why Does it Matter to Me?
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (PWGSA) stalled in the Senate. That means Washington, not state associations or individual schools, could set the rules governing who can compete on your daughter's high school team, or at the college level.
Separately, an executive order signed in April directed the NCAA to protect opportunities in women's and Olympic sports and instructed the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General to take enforcement action. That order is already in effect, meaning some federal pressure on sports organizations exists regardless of what Congress does next.
Both Sides, Now
Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) opened the hearing by stating its focus squarely on women's sports, and noted that Democrats had chosen to leave their witness seats empty. Witnesses who did testify argued that allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports is unfair to female athletes.
Ranking Member Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivered an opening statement before leaving, calling the hearing a "vendetta against a small number of people in the trans community" and citing NCAA data showing fewer than 10 of more than 500,000 college athletes are transgender.
A letter signed by more than 400 athletes, quoted in Durbin's statement, argued that efforts to exclude transgender athletes "fail to address any of the real, documented threats to women in sports," including unequal pay, sexual abuse, and a lack of equal resources.
Roll Call reported the issue has "reemerged in several Senate competitive races," with the hearing viewed as part of a broader Republican electoral strategy heading into the 2026 midterms.
What Happens Next?
No legislation is currently linked to the hearing in the committee record, and no follow-up hearings were announced. The 2026 midterm cycle is already shaping how both parties approach the issue, with Roll Call noting it has surfaced in competitive Senate races.
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