Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti celebrated on Monday after the Biden-Harris administration withdrew its proposed changes to Title IX, which would have prohibited school and athletic organizations from prohibiting transgender athletes from playing on teams reserved for biological females.
The White House quietly withdrew the proposed change last week, according to National Review, which reported the Department of Education (DOE) received more than 150,000 public comments on the proposal before it was shelved.
While the outlet explained Biden administration DOE Secretary Miguel Cardona described the rule change as a move against “discrimination,” the agency acknowledged Friday, “In light of the comments received and those various pending court cases, the Department has determined not to regulate on this issue at this time.”
According to the department, “a significant number of commenters included discussions of case law, scientific studies and research papers, and existing athletic association policies and practices regarding athletic eligibility criteria that, according to the commenters, supported the adoption, modification, or withdrawal of the proposed regulation.”
Skrmetti noted Tennessee’s opposition to the rule change in a post on social media platform X.
“We fought hard to block the Biden admin’s illegal Title IX rule from going into effect and won at every level, all the way up to the Supreme Court,” wrote Skrmetti. “We’re glad to see the administration abandon this additional effort to mandate boys on girls’ sports teams.”
The attorney general added that Tennessee “is proud to stand for common sense and the rule of law.”
Before the department withdrew its proposal, a movement to block the rule change gained the support of 25 state attorneys general and Skrmetti.
It was also opposed by about 700 colleges and universities, who said they would refuse to comply with a federal rule that required biologically male students who identify as transgender to be allowed to compete alongside biological women.
The U.S. Supreme Court additionally declined to enforce the Biden-Harris administration’s attempted rule change.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
