Eager to pull itself out of the battle over transgender sports, USA Fencing plans to tell a House Oversight Committee and Government Reform panel on Wednesday that it would immediately ban biological men from women’s events if Congress demands it.
Less than two months after suspending a women’s fencer for refusing to battle a transgender competitor, the president of USA Fencing said in prepared testimony that his group is looking for any sign from Congress to institute a ban.
“USA Fencing,” said Chairman Damien Lehfeldt, “is committed to complying with its obligations under the law. If the law and evidence around this issue change, so, too, will USA Fencing’s policies.”
80% of Americans agree MEN should not compete in WOMEN’S sports.
Stephanie Turner & Payton McNabb have suffered major injuries due to the intrusion of men in women’s spaces. It’s COMMON SENSE. We must uphold President Trump’s executive orders to protect Women’s Sports!
Stay… pic.twitter.com/CLyQzwPjuv
— DOGE Subcommittee (@DOGECommittee) May 6, 2025
In testimony to be given before the Department of Government Efficiency subcommittee chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Lehfeldt sounded like he was pleading for Congress to help the organization out of the controversy sparked when it suspended female fencer Stephanie Turner for taking a knee at a Maryland competition rather than challenge transgender fencer Red Sullivan, who was previously a member of a men’s college team.
Lehfeldt said that organizations participating in international sports must allow transgender athletes under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, passed in 1998. It requires national sporting organizations to abide by international rules, including allowing transgender athletes to compete.
“As a result, USA Fencing understands that it cannot ban transgender participation without the risk of violating the Ted Stevens Act,” he said in the testimony set to be given at 2 p.m. Should Congress amend the act, he said, USA Fencing would make the required changes.
USA Fencing is so eager to make the change that it has already adopted a “contingent transgender participation policy” that will institute a ban if the Ted Stevens Act is amended by Congress.
Here’s a preview of my @DOGECommittee hearing tomorrow.
Tune in at 2 PM as Republicans defend women from deranged mentally-ill men.
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— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
(@RepMTG) May 6, 2025
Going into the hearing, Greene said that the overriding law of the land should be President Donald Trump’s recent executive order keeping men’s and women’s sports separate.
She said her goal is to uphold both Title IX and the executive order and to “defend women from deranged mentally-ill men.”
At the hearing, Democrats plan to highlight the testimony of Fatima Goss Graves, the president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, the left-leaning group that supports transgender athletes.
In her prepared remarks, Graves said, “Trans women … are women.” She also attacked Turner’s refusal to battle Sullivan, calling it a public relations stunt.
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“As their match was set to begin, Turner knelt, removed her helmet and said she would not fence Sullivan, parroting the anti-trans dog whistle that Sullivan was not ‘really a woman.’ Turner filmed this interaction and posted it on social media. Turner made it clear she knew in advance of the tournament she would be competing against Sullivan, and instead of withdrawing from the tournament or informing the organizers ahead of time she did not want to fence against Sullivan, she chose to turn the interaction into a spectacle.”
Turner is also set to testify. And in her prepared remarks, she said, “Speaking out on this issue has made me a target for harassment and violence, as well as cost me friends. I have decided to step away from the sport I love, at least for now as well because the USFA has fostered an environment where I am unwelcome in my own category. It is culturally acceptable to bully and shame women who speak up for women. I should not have had to make this sacrifice. Women deserve to be treated fairly in sport.”
