Biden Withdraws Policy That Has Been Hotly Debated
Well, folks, here we are—after nearly two years of public outrage, legal battles, and enough comment submissions to bury the Department of Education in paperwork, the Biden-Harris administration has finally hit the brakes on its controversial Title IX rule.
You know, the one that would’ve allowed biological males who identify as female to compete in women’s sports, locker up in women’s locker rooms, and, let’s be honest, completely redefine the meaning of “fair competition.”
On Friday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona quietly dropped the news in a five-page bureaucratic farewell note, saying the Department had decided “not to regulate on this issue at this time.” Translation: “Okay, okay, we hear you—please stop yelling at us.”
And yelling they did. Over 150,000 public comments poured in on this rule, a staggering number for a government proposal. And those comments weren’t filled with polite suggestions and smiley faces—they were filled with parents, athletes, and advocacy groups waving red flags about fairness, safety, and the erosion of women’s opportunities in sports.
Let’s break it down. The original proposal would have essentially forced schools to allow biological males to compete in female sports if they identified as women.
Sure, there was a vague little carve-out for cases where safety and fairness could be proven to be compromised, but let’s not kid ourselves—proving that on a case-by-case basis would’ve been like trying to thread a needle in a hurricane.
May Mailman, director of the Independent Women’s Law Center and an attorney in the Alabama v. Cardona lawsuit, didn’t mince words: “Even the Biden administration can read the room that forcing women to compete and change with men is not a winning proposition.” That’s right, May—it doesn’t take a political genius to see that this proposal was about as popular as soggy french fries.
But hold the applause—this isn’t exactly a victory lap moment just yet. As Mailman rightly pointed out, the Biden administration’s broader Title IX rewrite still looms on the horizon. That rewrite redefines “sex” to mean “gender identity,” and that’s a game-changer with consequences for everything from scholarships to locker rooms to team rosters.
Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, summed it up with a wry observation: “After 18 months, the Biden Administration finally comes to their senses on Title IX’s application to sports! All it took was 130K angry comments, consistent polling that showed a widening majority opposed to their position, and losing a national election.”
Ah yes, elections—the ultimate feedback form.