Riley Gaines Blasts 45 Democratic Senators Who Voted Down Bill Protecting Women & Girls in Sports

Former collegiate swimming champion Riley Gaines is taking 45 Democratic U.S. Senators to task for their role in tanking a bill intended to protect women and girls from having to compete against male athletes.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 failed to advance in the Senate after a 51-45 procedural vote invoking cloture failed to achieve the 60 votes necessary to move the measure forward.

Gaine had strong words for the 45 Democrats who voted to stop the bill, saying, ‘Never, ever let them gaslight you into thinking Democrats care about ‘women’s rights.'”

45 Democratic Senators voted NO on Protecting Women & Girls in Sports.

Never, ever let them gaslight you into thinking Democrats care about ‘women’s rights’… pic.twitter.com/I1IyApksIH

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 4, 2025

Senate Bill 9, which was named in recognition of Title IX, was introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) to codify President Trump’s executive order prohibiting men from competing in athletic programs intended for women.

Gaines has been an outspoken advocate of keeping men who identify as women out of women’s sports after she was forced to compete against a male swimmer named William Thomas who claimed to be a woman and now goes by the name Lia Thomas.

The issue of men competing in women’s sports and being allowed unrestricted access to women’s showers and locker rooms has sparked legislation and policy reform at the state and federal level.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently revised its policies after President Trump issued an executive order instructing that federal funding be withheld from schools that allow men to participate on women’s athletic teams.

Gaines says it’s not just Democrats at the federal level who are refusing to protect female athletes from so-called tran-identified male athletes, it’s also Democrats at the state level who are refusing to draw a clear line between male and female athletes.

It’s not just federally elected Democrats who hate women. It’s proving to be virtually ALL elected Democrats at ALL levels.

Here’s proof from tonight’s vote in Minnesota where all 66 House Dems voted NO on the Preserving Girls Sports Act. pic.twitter.com/nVYJGWAkKo

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 4, 2025

In looking at the list of Senate Democrats who voted to stop the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act yesterday, Gaines says she sees between 8-10 Democrats who could likely be unseated in the 2026 elections, based on this vote alone.

Gaines has pointed to Sen. John Ossoff (D-GA) as one Democratic lawmaker that she will personally be working to unseat in 2026 for his part in voting against keeping men out of women’s sports.