DOGE House Subcommittee Announces Investigation Into USA Fencing Over Trans Policy
The DOGE House Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), announced that it will investigate USA Fencing for continuing to flout President Donald Trump's executive order to ban males from competing in girls' and women's sports.
The Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Wednesday titled, "Unfair Play: Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports." It wrote in a post on X: "The DOGE Committee’s investigation into USA Fencing is long overdue. Let’s be clear: Allowing biological males to dominate women’s sports isn’t "inclusivity"—it’s systemic fraud."
USA Fencing came under fire last month when Stephanie Turner, a woman, refused to face Redmond Sullivan, a "transgender woman" and biological male, in a women's fencing bout. Turner took a knee in protest rather than contest the match.
Due to her actions, Turner was given a "black card," the most severe penalty in fencing. That meant she was disqualified from the tournament, and was escorted off the premises. Turner told OutKick that USA Fencing's terrible policy is why she had to resort to drastic measures.
"They have a very strange policy where you have to be living within your identity for a year before you register [in the women’s category]. But there are no claims about whether you have to be on any sort of hormone treatment or testosterone suppression at all. You just have to be living in this identity," she said.
The DOGE House Subcommittee announced an investigation into USA Fencing due to the organization's continued allowance of males in the female category.
(OIS/IOC Handout Photo/USA TODAY via Imagn Images)
Shortly after Turner's protest, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who is the Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, sent a letter demanding that the governing body retract that policy and cease allowing males to compete in women's fencing.
OutKick reached out to USA Fencing for comment on the DOGE hearing. The organization did not immediately respond to our request.
UPDATE: After this article was published, USA Fencing provided a statement to OutKick: "USA Fencing Board Chair Damien Lehfeldt will testify Wednesday before the House DOGE Subcommittee today regarding our transgender athlete policy, which follows IOC and USOPC guidance. We remain committed to fair competition for every athlete and will have no further comment until after the hearing."
On past requests, the organization has pointed OutKick to a statement that was previously released:
"USA Fencing enacted our current transgender and non-binary athlete policy in 2023. The policy was designed to expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces. The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day... USA Fencing will always err on the side of inclusion, and we’re committed to amending the policy as more relevant evidence-based research emerges, or as policy changes take effect in the wider Olympic & Paralympic movement."
Pressure is mounting on USA Fencing to stop prioritizing the feelings of males over safety and fairness for female athletes. It seems like a no-brainer to end the madness and support the women in its organization. Alas, its commitment to ideology over reality appears to be keeping USA Fencing from making the common-sense decision.