House Democrats dodge questions on Supreme Court trans sports ruling

House Democrats have mostly ignored questions about the Supreme Court decision, which now allows states to ban student-athletes from competing on sports teams or leagues that correspond to their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

“I think we spend too much time obsessing over this,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., told Fox News Digital when asked for his opinion on the resolution. “And what people need to focus on right now is the dysfunction in Washington.”

“I think the focus needs to be on this economy and get us out of this election war and get gas prices down so people don’t have to make real decisions about whether they’re going to put food on their table, whether they’re going to put gas in their tank, whether they’re going to take their kids to the hospital or to school,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif.

DEMOCRATS REMAIN SILENT ON NEXT STEPS AFTER SUPREME COURT’S TRANS SPORTS DECISION

He continued: “I think the culture wars that we’ve allowed to divide us are doing nothing to feed our children.”

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision marked a major victory for supporters of laws restricting transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports and upheld state laws challenged by transgender student-athletes who argued the policies violated the Constitution.

But when asked about the landmark decision, many Democrats in the House were either unaware of the decision or tended to talk about what they saw as more important issues, such as the economy and dysfunction in Congress.

“This place is a disaster,” McGovern said. “And you know, the incompetence here… I’ve never seen that before.”

“I think what people need to focus on is that Washington is useless, and that’s really sad.”

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UNITED STATES – JANUARY 31: Ranking member Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., speaks during a House Rules Committee meeting on a resolution condemning the horrors of socialism at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

Although the decision was left to the states rather than a nationwide ban, Dr.I. Representative Seth Magaziner argued that the issue should be addressed at an even lower level: locally.

“Let’s like school sports associations, let’s let parents, let’s let people at the local level decide which sports, which age groups should be co-ed or what the rules should be.”

Like many of his Democratic colleagues, Magaziner quickly shifted the conversation to broader issues that he said Congress should prioritize.

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Washington DC Capitol dome detail waving American flag, USA (iStock)

“Frankly, I don’t think this is something that politicians in Washington should be involved in,” Magaziner said. “We should focus on lowering inflation, we should focus on ending the war, we should focus on protecting our democracy.”

“Congress should focus on the big picture,” he added.

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Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Md., was among several Democrats who directly criticized the decision, calling it “unfortunate.”

“It’s unfortunate for a lot of people in this country,” Elfreth said. “Like I said, they couldn’t do much today.”