On February 3, 2026, the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary hosted a markup for H.R. 1028, the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. The bill, championed by Rep. Greb Stuebe (R-Florida 17th), requires sports national governing bodies (NGBs) to designate women’s and girls’ sports categories based on biological sex. After several hours of debate, H.R. 1028 passed favorably by a party-line vote of 15-10.
Falling just one day before National Girls and Women in Sports Day and three days before the inauguration of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the markup for H.R. 1028 took place at an inflection point in the fight to save women’s sports.
Conservative members of the committee made a strong showing at the markup. Rep. Bob Onder (R-Missouri 3rd) highlighted Concerned Women for America’s (CWA) study on male participation in women’s sports: “In recent years, by allowing men identifying as women to dominate many events in women’s sports, men have stolen over $490K of prize money from women in professional sports and over 1,941 gold medals.” The Congressman also highlighted the fundamental biological differences between men and women: greater bone density, muscle mass, and lung capacity, to name a few.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona 5th) followed with show-stopping remarks. The Congressman referenced CWA’s study with specific attention to the 78 gold medals stolen by trans-identifying males in his home state of Arizona, pointing out that “these are not abstract numbers,” each medal representing a “stolen dream.”
Rep. Biggs also rightly noted that H.R. 1028 is a critical piece of legislation to close loopholes that unreliable sports NGBs continue to exploit as they undermine the President’s Executive Order, “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports.” USA Volleyball, for example, claims its policies are in compliance with the President’s order—but its sex designation policy is enforced using birth certificates, and the USA Volleyball website features a how-to video for amending a birth certificate to the opposite sex.
Considering birth certificates are amendable in 31 states, women and girls deserve more than a temporary executive order and patchwork policies riddled with loopholes. Clear, concrete, lasting federal policy that will create fair sports for years to come is a must. Sports NGBs have proven time and time again to be unreliable gender ideologues, and Congress must end its tacit stamp of approval to NGBs that refuse to protect female athletes—the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act does exactly that.
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming) followed with strong remarks emphasizing the unique dignity of women in the face of her liberal colleagues’ denigrating transgender ideology: “Cisgender is a made-up word. That means nothing. Do not call me cisgender. I am a woman.” CWA could not agree more with the Congresswoman.
Progressive members on the other side of the aisle, on the other hand, made remarks on anything but women’s sports, dismissing female athletes and the issue at hand wholesale. Liberal members wasted breath on a number of unrelated issues: measles outbreaks, alleged pigeon consumption among Haitian Americans, Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota, furry denial, abortion access, the Larry Nassar scandal, and a particularly long detour to the Epstein controversy.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-New York 12th) made an on-topic but stunningly incorrect statement: “There is now a scientific consensus that there are more than two sexes. And transgender people are a different sex.”
The bottom line seems to be that transgender ideologues from both the halls of Congress to elite law firms across the country will stop at nothing to distract from biological, observable, and empirical truths and undermine safety, opportunity, and fairness for women and girls in sports for the sake of their ideology. Unsurprisingly, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched a new ad campaign on the heels of their SCOTUS arguments in favor of trans-identifying participation in women’s sports last week, their main message being “just let the kids play.”
The ACLU should know that girls “just want to play,” too. The Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act isn’t about exclusion, it’s about creating a safe, fair space for women and girls. As Rep. Hageman noted, the bill does not prohibit men from participating in men’s sports—men who identify as women are welcome to participate in sports with other men.
Girls want to play fair, and they want to play safe. Equal opportunity for women and girls in sports begs that biological truth govern sports categories—like it or not, males have an innate physical advantage over females no matter how they dress, self-identify, or medicate.
As the 2026 Winter Olympics kick off, Congress must pass the Protection of Women and Olympic and Amateur Sports Act on the heels of a successful committee markup. As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation, Congress has an opportunity to stake America’s claim as the leader in fairness and opportunity for women and girls in sports.
