Senate Democrats block bill to ban trans athletes from women’s sports

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Senate Democrats voted Monday against a bill that would have banned transgender girls and women from competing in female sports.

By a vote of 51 to 45, the Senate did not invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports bill.

It needed 60 yes votes on the Senate floor to advance.

The bill prohibits school athletic programs from allowing individuals "whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs that are for women or girls."

In early February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports” which intends to ban transgender women from competing in women's and girls' sports.

"With this executive order, the war on women's sports is over," Trump said.

"We will defend the proud tradition of female athletes, and we will not allow men to beat up, injure and cheat our women and our girls. From now on, women’s sports will be only for women," he added.