Things got even tougher for New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday as she saw members of her party vote in favor of a bill she was attacking, but this time The move was widely ridiculed.
Ocasio-Cortez's blistering attack on the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act wasn't enough to convince Democratic allies Henry Cuellar and Vincent Gonzalez of Texas to vote Oppose the bill. Cuellar and Gonzalez joined 218 House Republicans in voting for the bill, which seeks to prevent federally funded educational institutions from allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' and women's sports.
For Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic members of Congress voting for Republican-backed bills before President-elect Trump returns to office is a sign that her party is "in bad shape."
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“We can’t be insensitive to this,” Ocasio-Cortez told The Independent on Tuesday. “It’s only the beginning. Trump hasn’t even been sworn in yet, and a little sports bill would make it so. If the Democrats defect, then we are not in good shape."
Ocasio-Cortez advised Democrats not to act "dumb" on the same day she launched a widely-derided tirade that contained multiple unsubstantiated claims and unfinished verdicts. Her rant drew widespread attention on social media and she was labeled "the stupidest person in Congress."
It marks a poor start to 2025 after a difficult 2024 for Ocasio-Cortez. While Ocasio-Cortez won re-election to her House seat in New York, members of her coalition "squad" lost their seats, including Jamal Bowman in New York and Cori Bush in Missouri.
Ocasio-Cortez also failed to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, being overruled by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
What's more, Ocasio-Cortez has often been the target of social media ridicule, often for her staunch stance on transgender inclusion in women's and girls' sports.
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In November, Ocasio-Cortez retweeted a video of Green Party vice presidential candidate Butch Ware speaking out against transgender participation in women’s sports, with the caption: “This Tickets are predatory and people deserve better." The post sparked a backlash on social media.
"AOC says not wanting men to compete in women's sports is predatory behavior. For AOC to acknowledge biological reality is 'predatory'. You know what real predatory behavior is?" Conservative Influence wrote former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines in an article on Fox News Digital about Ocasio-Cortez's comments.
The mocking of Ocasio-Cortez began weeks after the election when User X discovered that her bio no longer contained the pronouns "she/her."
Ocasio-Cortez is one of many prominent Democrats who remain staunchly supportive of transgender participation in women's sports, even though the issue proved to be a weakness for the party in the November election.
Many Democrats who spoke out against the bill on Tuesday did not posit the premise that transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women's and girls' sports. Instead, they argue that measures to prevent trans inclusion would expose girls to genital examinations and sexual predators, even though there is no language in the bill recommending genital examinations for girls in sports.
Ocasio-Cortez included this unsubstantiated claim in her rant on Tuesday, but gave a shout-out to transgender athletes when she yelled "Trans girls will be girls!" In the House of Representatives.
In this April 10, 2019 photo, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks with major bank leaders during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington Listen at the meeting. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Ocasio-Cortez previously co-sponsored the Equality Act, which was introduced in 2019 with amendments that “would force public schools to allow male athletes who biologically identify as transgender. Women’s Sports Teams”. In March 2023, Democrats including Ocasio-Cortez proposed a resolution “Recognize that it is the responsibility of the federal government to develop and implement a transgender rights bill.”
Unlike Ocasio-Cortez, other Democratic House representatives have publicly withdrawn their support for transgender inclusion, including Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. Reps. Colin Allred, D-Texas; and Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., nonetheless voted against the bill on Tuesday.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
one national exit poll A survey conducted by the Legislative Action Committee for Concerned American Women found that 70% of moderate voters believe "Donald Trump opposes transgender boys and men participating in girls' and women's sports and transgender boys and men using girls' and women's bathrooms." "It's important to them. Six percent said it was the most important issue, and 44 percent said it was "very important."
In June, a survey showed Conducted by NORC, University of Chicago Respondents were asked to weigh whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity rather than their biological sex.
In that survey, 65 percent responded that it should never or rarely be allowed. When respondents were specifically asked about adult transgender female athletes competing on women's sports teams, 69% were opposed.
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