Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, both of Texas, were the only Democrats to side with Republicans on Tuesday to pass legislation meant to bar transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act would amend Title IX the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools and education programs that receive government funding to prohibit schools from allowing transgender girls or women to participate in athletic programs or activities “designated for women or girls.” 

It defines sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” 

The bill passed the House Tuesday in a 218-206 vote, with Gonzalez and Cuellar joining all Republicans in support. Three Republicans and six Democrats did not vote, and one Democrat voted “present.” 

“I believe that there should be rules to keep our sports fair and that boys should not play in girls sports,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “Members of Congress must have the freedom to vote in a manner representative of their district. As Democrats, we should not be afraid to vote our district’s values because we’re afraid of Washington.”

Gonzalez told NOTUS ahead of Tuesday’s vote that the House bill “is very broad” and he hopes the Senate, which is set to consider the bill in the coming weeks, will add more guardrails.

Gonzalez, who narrowly won reelection in November, was hit by his opponent, former Rep. Mayra Flores (R-Texas), on the campaign trail for supporting gender-affirming care for transgender minors. An ad run by Flores’s campaign claimed Gonzalez pushed “sex changes for kids.”

Responding to the ad, Gonzalez said Flores was lying about his position. 

“I have never supported tax dollars paying for gender transition surgeries and never will,” Gonzalez told Spectrum News in October. 

A spokesperson for Cuellar, who voted against the bill in 2023, told The Hill he voted for the bill this time around “based on the concerns and feedback he received from constituents in his district.” 

In an interview with Politico in November, Cuellar, who is facing federal bribery charges, said Democrats need a more effective communication strategy on transgender rights. 

“[Republicans] make those issues into ads and, part of that is, the Democrats set that up for them,” he said. “Transgender, pro-choice, I understand that, but the problem is that Democrats sometimes underestimate or don’t read the general public, and if they think that those are the big issues for the general public in rural America or in South Texas, they’re reading the public wrong.” 

Cuellar also broke from House Democrats in 2023 by voting for a Republican-backed defense bill that would have restricted abortion access and gender-affirming health care for transgender service members.