The Biden administration has decided to abandon its efforts to rewrite Title IX to include gender identity following numerous legal challenges, according to a Friday report.
President Joe Biden initially proposed revisions to Title IX in 2022, aiming to expand its scope to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity in public schools receiving federal funding. The Daily Caller reported that a finalized version released in April 2024 included provisions requiring states to allow men to compete in women’s sports.
However, according to a leaked Department of Education document slated for release on December 26, the administration will no longer pursue the changes after facing multiple lawsuits and having the order blocked in several states.
“The Department recognizes that there are multiple pending lawsuits related to the application of Title IX in the context of gender identity, including lawsuits related to Title IX’s application to athletic eligibility criteria in a variety of factual contexts,” the announcement said.
“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. Therefore, the Department hereby withdraws the Athletics NPRM and terminates this rulemaking proceeding,” the announcement added, according to the outlet.
BREAKING: Biden’s Dept of Education Withdraws Proposed Rules Governing Participation In Single-Sex Sports According to Gender Identity
After the Biden administration proposed rules in April 2023 that would have outlawed state bans on participation in single-sex sports by gender… pic.twitter.com/cyyTR4VUfz
— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) December 20, 2024
Department of Education Withdraws Proposed Rules On Single-Sex Sports Participation By Gender Identityhttps://t.co/gqkvHxvkR4
In April 2023, the Biden administration proposed rules that would have largely barred policies forbidding students from participating in single-sex… pic.twitter.com/S7duNSNyCr— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) December 20, 2024
However, the Biden administration’s decision to abandon the Title IX proposal may serve as a strategic roadblock for the incoming Trump administration.
According to the Associated Press, withdrawing the rule entirely would require President-elect Donald Trump to restart the process from the beginning if he chooses to implement his own revisions. Additionally, several other proposals unlikely to pass before Biden leaves office, including his expansive plan to forgive student debt for millions of Americans, are also being shelved. That said, Trump could elect to abandon any attempts to revise those policies altogether.
The proposed rule sparked significant controversy because of worries regarding fairness and the safety of women.
Several states, including Florida, Virginia, and Texas, filed lawsuits against the Biden administration, arguing that the president lacked the authority to revise the Title IX rule. The order had already been blocked from taking effect in over 20 states.
The DC noted that in August, the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s request to partially reinstate the rule, stating that there was no substantial basis for overturning the lower courts’ decisions.
Trump, meanwhile, revealed this week that he plans to use the beginning hours of his presidency to pardon people convicted of participating in the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, begin deportations of illegal immigrants, and increase oil production.
During an interview with Time magazine, Trump said the pardons would go to “nonviolent” people at the Capitol.
“We’re going to do it very quickly, and it’s going to start in the first hour that I get into office. A vast majority should not be in jail, and they’ve suffered gravely,” Trump said about pardons in Jan. 6 cases.
Trump’s comments came during an in-depth conversation on Nov. 25 that was part of the magazine’s selection of Trump as its “Person of the Year.”
On foreign policy, the president-elect criticized President Joe Biden for letting Ukraine use U.S.-made weapons against some targets in Russia. He called this a worsening of the fighting that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in full in 2022. He suggested that efforts to end the war could intensify once he returns to office.
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