The two most vulnerable Democratic senators voted against advancing a bill this week to prevent biological males from participating in women’s and girls’ sports, despite popular public support for such a policy. Now, they’re justifying why they did it.
“I listened to what I heard in New Hampshire, and what we heard from people who were keeping track of how many — Charlie Baker, for example, who heads the NCAA, who said that it only applies to one person,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., told Fox News Digital.
“I don’t think we need legislation to do that. I think we can police it through the organizations,” she said.
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“This bill was overreach,” Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement.
“School districts and athletic associations can ensure fair, safe competition without subjecting the bodies of adolescent student athletes — children — to intrusive investigation by the federal government,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ossoff’s office but did not hear back in time for publication.
In a recent New York Times/Ipsos survey, the vast majority of Americans said men and boys who identify as transgender women and girls “should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.”
However, in a Senate procedural vote on Monday, every single voting Democrat blocked the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act from moving on to a final vote on passage.
All voting Republicans voted in favor of limiting debate on the measure and thereby overcoming the legislative filibuster, which is what the 60-vote threshold on Senate cloture motions is often called.
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Because the vote was only 51 to 45, the bill won’t move forward to a final vote at this time.
Among Democrats in the NYT/Ipsos poll, 67% agreed with Republicans that biological males shouldn’t be allowed to participate in female sports.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., would require Title IX to treat gender as “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth” and would not allow for it to be applied to a differing gender identity.
“This past week showed us how evil the Democrat party truly is. Every single senator voted to strip away the rights of women and girls everywhere,” Tuberville said in a statement.
“Both Sen. Jon Ossoff and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen pretend to care about women, but they clearly don’t give a rip about their privacy, safety, or right to fair competition. They think protecting female athletes is an ‘overreach,’ but are perfectly okay with forcing women to share locker rooms and shower with fully intact males. One thing is clear: Jon Ossoff and Jeanne Shaheen are completely out of touch with their voters.”
After their votes, the National Republican Senatorial Committee took a shot at its top Senate targets. “Jon Ossoff could have joined the overwhelming majority of Georgians in the fight for common sense and keeping men out of women’s sports,” NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia said in a statement. “Instead, he told parents and their daughters that Democrats believe they must play sports and share locker rooms and bathrooms with biological males.”
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Both Shaheen and Ossoff are up for re-election in 2026 in New Hampshire and Georgia. While Ossoff has been gearing up for a tough Senate battle for months, Shaheen has yet to announce whether she will be running.
She is expected to announce her decision at some point this month, sources in New Hampshire confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Shaheen is the only remaining Senate Democrat in a competitive seat who has not yet publicly revealed her re-election plans.
Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., is the GOP favorite to take on Ossoff for the southern state’s Senate seat, but he has not said whether he will launch a bid. He said he has “really got a lot on my plate right now,” in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
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“I’m in the middle of my legislative session. We’ve got a big tort reform fight going on. I’m chairing the Republican Governors Association. I made a commitment on that.”
“I know I can’t keep holding out forever, so we’ll have something to say on that down the road,” he added.
Nonpartisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report has rated the Georgia Senate race as a “Toss Up,” while the New Hampshire seat is considered “Lean Democratic.”
