Senate Democrats want to leave the issue of trans athletes playing in women's sports to state and local governments [View all]

[Celerity]

https://www.axios.com/2025/03/07/senate-democrats-transgender-womens-sports

https://archive.ph/dhaV5

Why it matters: Democrats privately admit they need a sharper response to counter Republican attacks on their support for transgender rights, especially when it involves sports.

In the Senate, their emerging strategy is to argue that one part of the issue is best left to the states, while acknowledging concerns about athletes gaining an unfair advantage. "There are basic issues of fairness here," said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) "There are really important issues that we should be discussing on the local level, within sports leagues and within conferences."

Between the lines: The Democratic messaging effort has been spearheaded by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), sources tell Axios. Baldwin, the first openly gay person elected to the Senate, faced a barrage of attacks on the topic in her 2024 reelection campaign. She feared Republicans were flooding the zone with their attacks without Democrats having a clear and consistent rebuttal.

"Republicans in Washington are saying they know better than parents and local school districts," she said in a statement. "They are wrong. I trust parents, schools and local sports leagues to make these decisions for their children."

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