‘The War on Women’s Sports is Over’: Trump Bans Males in Female Athletics

President Donald Trump signed a new executive order Wednesday protecting women’s and girls sports from biological male athletes who identify as transgender.

“The war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said.

“We will not allow men to beat up, injure, and cheat our women and our girls,” he continued. “From now on, women’s sports will be only for women.”

Trump signed the order on the 39th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day.

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, who was forced to compete against biological male Lia Thomas, attended the signing of the order after speaking to Republican Study Committee members lunch.

Gaines is an ambassador for Independent Women’s Forum.

“For the past four years, Independent Women has worked strategically to engage persuadable Americans on the harms of the Left’s policies—especially how they would impact women and girls,” Gaines said in remarks shared with The Daily Signal immediately after the lunch. “We knew Americans believed gender ideology and the woke administrative state had gone way too far, and we sought to redirect this conversation to where our side was strongest—women’s sports and spaces, parents’ rights, and the real dangers of gender ideology extremism on minors. It worked.”

Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger of Texas also spoke at the lunch.

“The Left wants to redefine biology and destroy women’s sports—but we’re fighting back,” Pfluger said in a statement shared with The Daily Signal. “As a father of three daughters, I refuse to let gender ideology threaten their dreams, which is why President Trump’s executive order is so critical. We’re proud to host Riley Gaines today as the Republican Study Committee leads the charge to permanently protect women’s sports and ensure not one more female athlete loses an opportunity to compete fairly.” 

Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to “ban” transgender-identifying biological males from competing in women’s sports.

“I’ve never met a person that came up to me, and they say, ‘We want men to play in women’s sports,’” Trump said at a rally on Oct. 22. “Somehow, they’re pushing it. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve been talking about this for a while, because I’m ending it. On Day One, I’m ending it.”

The House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls Act in January. The Senate has yet to vote on the bill, sponsored by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., a former college football coach.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of registered voters think biological males should not be allowed to participate in women’s and girls sports, according to national polling from RMG Research shared with The Daily Signal.

Female athletes worldwide have lost about 900 medals to so-called transgender rivals competing against them in women’s sporting categories, according to a new United Nations report.

Tuberville introduced legislation to protect women’s sports from male athletes. Tuberville said the Senate needs to pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, as executive orders can be reversed.

“On Nov. 5, 2024, the American people just didn’t elect President Trump, they also decisively rejected this ridiculous notion that men can get pregnant and boys should compete in women’s sports,” Tuberville said on the Senate floor Wednesday.