EXCLUSIVE: As the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act heads to the Senate after passing the House, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., believes it will continue to get bipartisan support there, just as it did in the House.

Blackburn told Pakinomist Digital in an exclusive interview that she has spoken with several Democrats across the aisle who support limiting trans inclusion in women’s sports.

“Many of my friends who are Democrats will tell you that they think Title IX is one thing and that biological men competing against women is inappropriate and they want opportunities for their daughters or nieces or granddaughter and that is frustrating for them when they hear or about or witness a transgender man playing in a women’s or girls’ league,” Blackburn said.

When the bill went through the House last Tuesday, Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas, the only two Democrats who voted for it. Blackburn expects and hopes there will be more Democratic senators voting for the bill when it hits the Senate floor.

“I would expect there would be, I would hope there would be,” she said.

However, most Democrats remain strongly opposed to the bill. Many have gone so far in their opposition as to make unsubstantiated claims that the law would allow child predators to perform gender tests on young girls.

Many of the 206 Democratic House representatives, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., made this argument despite the fact that there was no language in the bill indicating that genitalia would be used.

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Republicans insisted that proof of birth sex can be determined simply by a birth certificate. Democrats’ attempt to tie the bill to child predator authorization has driven many loyal voters away from the party, Pakinomist Digital previously reported.

Blackburn says she has “no idea” what the Democrats who argued it would result in the empowerment of child predators are thinking.

“I find it very difficult to believe that protecting girls in sports would have such a negative effect,” Blackburn said. “Looking at the substance of the bill is the best way to argue against it and know that a large majority of Americans support protecting girls in girls’ sports.”

A recent one New York Times/Ipsos survey found that the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, do not believe that transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.

Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as female should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrats, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.

Controversy over trans athletes competing against women became a central election issue in 2024, with President Donald Trump and Republicans all promising to take action to prevent it.

The GOP has indicated it will fulfill its promise very early on, as the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act was the very first bill introduced to the 119th Congress. Blackburn plans to advocate strongly for the bill when it reaches the Senate, where the Republican majority and some Democrats are expected to pass it to the White House for Trump to sign.

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Blackburn doesn’t stop there though. She also presents three other proposals to tackle the problem on both a legislative and cultural level.

The Tennessee senator has introduced a resolution calling on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to revoke its eligibility policy for transgender students and athletes, along with Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla.

NCAA President Charlie Baker faced questions and criticism from Republican lawmakers for those policies during a Dec. 17 congressional hearing. Baker repeatedly cited federal law and recent federal court decisions that have made that possible. Blackburn and Steube’s decision would force Baker and the NCAA to follow a new precedent instead.

Blackburn is also introducing a bill to assess and prevent violence against women in athletics. The Fair Play for Girls Act, which in addition to keeping women’s sports for women, would “require the U.S. Attorney General to submit an analysis of violence against women in athletics to Congress.”

“We’ve talked to different women who have had negative effects,” Blackburn said. “This would require the Attorney General to do an analysis and look at what is happening in the world of sports with women and women and then look at where there are barriers to fair competition for the girls, where there are instances of girls losing opportunities. because a girl has joined their team or plays in their league, and then also to look at harassment of women and girls in athletics.”

Blackburn is even seeking to have a conscious protection of women and girls in sports embedded in American culture with a resolution declaring October 10 as “American Girls in Sports Day,” which Senate Democrats blocked last Congress.

The date, October 10, which translates to XX in Roman numerals, is meant to refer to the XX chromosomes that determine a woman’s sex at birth.

“It would just be teams and schools celebrating their teams and seeing it as a time where schools provide opportunities for coaches to girls who have excelled in various sports, I think it would be a source of encouragement for more young girls to participate in sports,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn’s bill has been approved by Riley Gaines, Jennifer Sey, Caitlyn Jenner, Sage Steele, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, Parents Defending Education Action and Independent Women’s Forum.