Just in time for Concerned Women for America’s (CWA) summit titled “Gaining Ground,” the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a measure to keep men out of women’s sports. Just last Congress, not a single Democrat was willing to vote for such protections, but the dam finally cracked earlier this year, and with the most recent vote, recorded support increased five-fold.
In April 2023, the House of Representatives passed Congressman Greg Steube’s (R-Florida 17th) Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 734) which clarifies that Title IX protects women’s athletic opportunities on the basis of sex, not gender identity. This was the first substantial vote on the issue since the NCAA stunned the world by handing a women’s national championship to a male athlete. However, despite a public outcry, not a single Democrat voted for the bill. And they paid the price.
In the following election (November ’24), Democrats suffered an overwhelming loss and didn’t just hand Republicans the keys to the White House but were now in the minority in both chambers of Congress. Concerned Women for America LAC exit polling suggests the issue of men competing in women’s sports played an outsized role, leading to the Democrats’ failure.
House Republicans were then quick to capitalize on the party’s misguided stance and took another vote on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act as one of the first votes of the new Congress. This time, two House Democrats from moderate Texas districts voted for the bill, Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas 28th) and Vincente Gonzales (D-Texas 34th).
The remaining 206 districts whose representatives voted for men in women’s sports and locker rooms got louder, particularly those with leaders from Concerned Women for America and Young Women for America.
For example, Stone Ridge Christian School, residing in Democrat Rep. Adam Gray’s 13th district of California, forfeited several volleyball games in which their girls’ volleyball team was set to compete against a team with a male participant. The YWA/CWA leaders have acted swiftly to protect female athletes in California, offering support to the female athletes and demanding more from their elected officials. They even made a Fox News headline for praying over women’s sports debates at a school board meeting in Riverside, California.
The grassroots swell isn’t confined to California, and members of Congress have clearly felt the heat.
Just last week, the U.S. House voted on the National Defense Authorization Act of 2026. Members offered hundreds of amendments, one of which was introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina 1st) and would prohibit men from competing on women’s athletic teams at military academies. The amendment made it all the way to the House Floor, and the full vote was astounding.
This was the first time in several months that House members recorded their positions on men in women’s sports since the two democrats defied the party line in January. This time, 10 Democrats voted on the side of protecting women.
You can’t help but notice the CWA and YWA activism in these members’ home states: California, home to some of the largest CWA chapters; Maine, where friend of CWA Laura Libby was censured in the legislature for her views on women’s sports; Nevada, where one of CWA’s newest State Directors resides; New York, Washington, and more.
The Democrat position replacing women in sports with men is leading their members to failure, and they are jumping ship. This is a tipping point.
Truth’s resounding victory is defying political bounds. Momentum is ours, and Concerned Women for America LAC will continue emboldening members of Congress, regardless of political party, to stand up for women, truth, and families. We are more energized than ever, and the 206 Democrats still unwilling to protect women will not only have to answer to us, but the thousands of other constituents, particularly young women, on whom they have turned their backs.
