With the arrival of a new year also came the commencement of a new session of Congress, this one with a Republican majority. So what will the next two years entail for trans people while conservatives are in charge?
In recent years, a slough of anti-trans legislation has been introduced at a federal level and across the nation in conservative states. Though some state level bills have been passed, federal bills have run into more trouble getting passed during the Biden-Harris Administration.
But now, the usual roadblocks are limited and at the center of the conservative agendas are trans rights. What’s more, the recent House rules package highlights anti-trans policy as a legislative priority. According to The Advocate, one of the first actions prioritized by the chamber will be addressing a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools. Conservatives believe sex should be “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” when considering Title IX compliance in athletics.
Also at the top of the Republican agenda is a ban on federal funds being used for gender-affirming care. The Advocate reports that around 52 Republicans have endorsed a bill to block federal funds from being utilized for gender-affirming care for minors, and 49 Republicans have endorsed a similar bill for all trans Americans regardless of age.
The latter bill advanced to the House Ways and Means’ Health Subcommittee last month. If introduced and passed by Congress, these bills would block Americans from receiving coverage for gender-affirming care on Medicaid and Medicare programs.
Though these bills could realistically be passed by a Republican-controlled Congress, Democrats can delay their advancement by filibustering. In this case, the Senate would need more than a majority of votes for bills to pass, meaning some Democrats would also need to vote for anti-trans bills to pass.
House Republicans are already rushing to pass anti-trans bills, recently approving a bill barring transgender women and girls from sports in schools. And Trump himself has promised to tackle anti-trans policies on his first days in office.
What’s to come for the trans community is yet to be seen, but a slow rise in representation in Congress and at state levels offers a glimmer of hope. Starting this month Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender member of Congress.
