U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., reiterated the unfounded claim that the Defending Women and Girls in Sports Act would “unleash” sexual predators on girls in the U.S. Jeffries first made this assertion on the day the House voted on the bill, January 14, aligning with other notable Democratic representatives, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. This claim faced significant backlash from some Democratic voters and was not mentioned again before the Senate’s vote on the bill. However, Jeffries brought it up once more when asked about California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent remarks regarding transgender athletes in girls’ sports being “unfair.”
“I haven’t seen [Newsom’s] comments. What Democrats opposed was unleashing sexual predators on girls throughout the United States of America,” Jeffries stated to reporters on Thursday.
When Jeffries and other House Democrats made this argument in January, it lacked any basis in the bill’s language. Republicans maintained that no genital inspections would be required and that proof of birth gender could be established through a birth certificate. The bill ultimately passed in the House with a vote of 218-206, with two Democratic representatives, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez from Texas, voting in favor, despite Jeffries and others labeling it as “The House Republican Child Predator Empowerment Act.”
In the Senate, not a single Democrat supported the bill, and with 45 votes against it, they successfully filibustered the legislation, despite 51 Republicans voting in favor. Multiple Democratic senators explained their opposition to the bill, citing various reasons. However, few reiterated the claim that the bill would enable sexual predators to conduct genital examinations on young girls. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., expressed similar concerns. Cortez Masto stated, “This blanket legislation would allow anyone to subject girls to invasive physical exams just because of the way they look. That is incredible government overreach and puts young women at increased risk for abuse and harassment – something I’ve spent my career fighting against.” Durbin added, “It’s that personal, it’s that important, and [because of Republicans], we’re going to vote to give someone unspecified the right to physically inspect a girl or a young woman if the opposing team accuses them of being transgender. My goodness.”
Following the House vote in January, some Democratic voters left the party in response to Jeffries’ child predator argument.
