Merry Christmas to Female Athletes: Biden Admin Withdraws Title IX Changes in Unmistakable Admission of Defeat

Facing intense and persistent opposition to a proposed rule change that would allow men to participate in women’s sports, the Biden administration has decided to abandon its efforts to revise longstanding legislation in favor of advancing transgender priorities.

In a carefully worded notice, the Education Department announced its decision to withdraw the proposal to alter Title IX — the landmark rule ensuring equal opportunities for women. The revision would have effectively enabled transgender individuals to compete in women’s sports and access facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms, as reported by Just the News.

The Education Department acknowledged receiving over 150,000 public comments on the rule change, facing multiple legal challenges and recognizing the approaching end of the Biden administration. The agency stated it would no longer pursue the controversial policy.

Had the rule been implemented, it would have granted male athletes access to women’s sports and other spaces traditionally reserved for females. Originally proposed in April 2023, the rule aimed to redefine the scope of protections under Title IX.

Jonathan Scruggs, Senior Counsel and Vice President of Legal Strategy at Alliance Defending Freedom, called the withdrawal a significant win for women. In a statement on the organization’s website, he emphasized, “Women and girls deserve to compete on a level playing field, and the U.S. Department of Education has taken a step in the right direction by withdrawing this proposed change.”

Scruggs added, “As the withdrawal admitted, many Americans voiced their opposition to the rule change, and there are many pending lawsuits related to protecting women’s sports — including a comment submitted by Alliance Defending Freedom and multiple lawsuits brought by ADF to protect women’s sports.”

He further noted, “The decision to withdraw the proposed sports rule merely reflects the views of the vast majority of Americans who believe that women’s sports should remain reserved for female athletes.”

Instead of allowing President-elect Donald Trump to amend the rule upon taking office, Karoline Leavitt, a Trump representative, accused the Biden administration of complicating governance. “The White House is adding more red tape and making it more difficult for him to govern,” she told NBC.

Leavitt affirmed Trump’s resolve, saying, “President Trump will not be deterred by their dirty tricks and will use every lever of power to reverse the damage Biden has done and implement his America First agenda.”

Ian Miller, writing for Outkick, highlighted the administration’s strategic timing in announcing the withdrawal. “It’s clear that the administration knew that this rule to protect transgender athletes had no chance of surviving the lawsuits and court of public opinion. Especially after the re-election of Donald Trump showed that the country overwhelmingly disapproved of such extremism,” he wrote.

Miller further pointed out, “But it’s also clear that they wanted to bury this announcement as to avoid scrutiny and criticism from the political left. So they chose to dump it on the Friday before Christmas, with most of the country checked out of the news or focused on the first game of the new College Football Playoff era.”

He described the Biden plan as a “direct repudiation” of Title IX’s original intent. Miller concluded, “It will no longer fall to lawsuits for women and their families, or sane states, to protect themselves against the absurdity of enshrining protections for ‘gender identity’ into Title IX.”

“This might be the most obvious sign yet that sanity is winning,” Miller added, noting a cultural shift in attitudes toward trans athletes.