At Wednesday's House DOGE Committee hearing, Rep. William Timmons (R-TN) questioned the head of USA Fencing about the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports.
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00:00I'll recognize Mr. Timmons from South Carolina.
00:03Thank you, Madam Chair.
00:05We are here today to shine a light not only on the integrity of women's sports,
00:09but on how government-backed institutions chartered by Congress
00:12may be misusing that authority to push controversial policies that violate basic human rights
00:18and disregard their congressionally authorized mission.
00:22When an organization abuses authority delegated by the government,
00:25it is within the purview of this subcommittee, plain and simple.
00:28I realize my colleagues across the aisle don't understand that.
00:30USA Fencing is a national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States,
00:35officially recognized under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.
00:39That designation is not just ceremonial.
00:41It is a chartered monopoly backed by federal law
00:44and accompanied by special privileges and funding access.
00:47That status comes with an expectation that NGBs serve all athletes equitably,
00:53promote excellence, and adhere to national interests, not ideological crusades.
00:57Yet recent events raise serious questions about whether USA Fencing has abandoned its mandate,
01:02is wasting resources, undermining athletes, and jeopardizing the integrity of women's sports,
01:07all while flying under the flag of a federal endorsement.
01:11We've heard USA Fencing speak about inclusion, but what about transparency and fairness,
01:16especially toward female athletes like Stephanie?
01:18We are having this hearing for women's rights,
01:21and we know the difference between a man and a woman.
01:23That's why we are here.
01:24Stephanie Turner and Peyton McNabb's rights have been violated.
01:28What's worse is they have been violated by an entity operating under the color of federal law,
01:32an organization that bears the name of our great country as bestowed by Congress in 1978.
01:36And I can assure you that in 1978, the members that voted for this law would be horrified.
01:42They would be horrified that we have to have this hearing.
01:45Mr. Leifeld, you said earlier that the Ted Stevens Act prohibited you, prohibited you from discriminating
01:54against biological men that identify as women.
01:58What are you referencing?
02:01Congressman, I may have misspoke.
02:03I don't recall saying that.
02:05Could you remind me specifically what my words were in that scenario?
02:08You said that the statute, that you were statutorily prohibited from telling transgender men
02:15that they are not allowed to participate in women's competitions.
02:19Sir, I believe what I was referring to is a statute within the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act,
02:23which prevents any NGB from being more restrictive than their international federation.
02:29We have consulted with very competent legal counsel.
02:31Are you familiar with the executive order signed by President Trump right here?
02:35Yes, sir.
02:36Okay, so, Madam Chair, I'd like to submit this for the record.
02:39Without objection.
02:40So, a couple things.
02:41One, this executive order prohibits all entities that receive federal funds, which I know you
02:47do not, of allowing transgender men to compete in women's sports.
02:50So, that's basically your entire pipeline.
02:52Your main purpose is to figure out who we're going to send to the Olympics, or one of your main
02:58purposes.
02:58Is that fair?
02:59That's correct, sir.
03:00Okay, so, you have women that are participating in high school and in college, and they're
03:07never going to compete against transgender men, because that's federally prohibited.
03:10And, by the way, this executive order also says that the Secretary of State shall use all
03:14appropriate and available measures to see that the International Olympic Committee amends
03:18the standard governing.
03:19We're going to fix this.
03:21And you're lagging behind us fixing it, and what's going to happen is we're going to amend
03:28the Ted Stevens Act to literally, you're going to lose your federal charger, and I appreciate
03:33that you did adopt a contingent policy, but why do we have to do this?
03:38You're really creating a problem where no problem should actually exist, and if all this isn't
03:43enough, I'm going to just highlight something you had on your website.
03:46I mean, this is just pretty insane.
03:48What statutory or moral authority is granted to USA Fencing in its charter to determine who
03:53in our society is oppressed?
03:56Congressman, forgive me, I can't.
03:58This is on your website.
04:00But if I could go back to something you were saying before, sir, about changing the law and
04:05what you were talking about with the executive order.
04:07Sure.
04:08All right, thank you, sir.
04:08We will be prepared to pivot as soon as the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act changes, the
04:14FIE, the IOC.
04:16I mean, I have a feeling that we're going to write the statute in a way that if this is
04:19a problem when the statute becomes law, we're probably going to have some additional clauses
04:23in there that removes rights and abilities.
04:26But look, you do you.
04:27And we will follow the law, sir.
04:29The law is going to be punitive, I can assure you of that.
04:32We're not going to let this stand, and it's going to get fixed.
04:35Anyways, I want to go back to this.
04:37So you say on your website that Vietnam veterans are an oppressed group versus veterans.
04:50Why does a veteran of a war in Afghanistan or Iraq have – how is a Vietnam veteran oppressed?
05:00Sir, I've actually never seen this, but I want to be clear.
05:04We have an appreciation for all of our veterans.
05:06We have many – one individual who served our country admirably, was disabled by an IED
05:11in Iraq, and we very, very much appreciate all of our veterans, sir.
05:16Without – thank you.
05:17Madam Chairwoman, I'd like to ask for unanimous consent to enter something into the record.
05:22Without objection.