GOP lawmakers slam Biden administration's new Title IX protections for 'gender identity'

Republicans blasted new regulations for Title IX being ushered in by President Biden's Department of Education that would protect gender identity from discrimination, while rolling back Trump-era rules that bolstered the rights of those accused of sexual misconduct. 

"The Biden administration has completely lost its way on Title IX," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a statement. Cassidy serves as ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

He prefaced that his office is still examining the new regulations, "but it appears to be an attempt by the Biden administration to pursue an ideological agenda on gender identity and inject federal bureaucrats into the parent-child relationship."

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chairman of the HELP committee, did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

Biden announced new regulations for Title IX Friday morning, which included expanding the definition of sex discrimination to include both sexual orientation and gender identity, which the president's administration touts as protection for LGBT students.

The unveiled rule changes also rolled back regulations put in place by former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that ensured due process for the accused. 

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona cheered the announcement of the rules.

"These final regulations build on the legacy of Title IX by clarifying that all our nation’s students can access schools that are safe, welcoming and respect their rights," Cardona said. 

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"Title IX was meant to protect female students from sex discrimination," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Sadly, the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule does the exact opposite and makes it harder for schools to protect women.

"As we saw in the tragic Loudon County case, these kinds of woke policies are putting our daughters at risk," Cruz warned, mentioning an event in northern Virginia where a female student was sexually assaulted in a bathroom by a male student wearing a skirt.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said in a statement the regulations are "not about protecting students." Instead, he claimed Biden's rules are "about appeasing the radical members of their base by imposing woke policies that rob women and girls of equal opportunities and jeopardize their safety."

Reacting to the rules, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., claimed, the "left wants to use it as a tool to further its woke gender ideology."

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"We identify as pissed off," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital in a statement.  

The congresswoman claimed Biden's administration is "effectively saying that women's safety is expendable" with the new rules. 

"Recent incidents, like the appalling rape of a woman in Rikers by a biological male, are a stark reminder of the very real dangers posed by these reckless policies. This isn't progress; this is regression at its worst, and women are paying the price," she continued. 

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has made protecting women's sports a legislative priority, said in a statement, "Today, the Biden administration redefined the definition of a ‘woman.'

"This means that biological women now have zero safe spaces and no real identity." 

Tuberville recently offered an amendment to a federal government spending package, adding his Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to it last month. However, the Senate voted along party lines to reject including the amendment in the massive government spending bill. 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also warned of the rule changes' effect on women's sports, telling Fox News Digital in a statement, "Regardless of the propaganda being pushed by the left, men and women are biologically different. We’ve seen how Joe Biden's vision for female sports will result in two teams – one team of men and another team of folks that used to be men."

Two congressional aides informed Fox News Digital that lawmakers were briefed on the changes Friday by Catherine Lhamon, the assistant secretary in the Office for Civil Rights at the DOE. According to the sources, Lhamon reiterated that the regulations would not affect school athletics because the rulemaking process related to this is still ongoing. They added that no clarity was provided as to how sports would be unaffected when gender identity will be protected from discrimination. 

The aides additionally raised concerns over the department's lack of a plan for assisting schools with implementation, which is required by Aug. 1. The sources said rules are traditionally rolled out with a plan to coordinate implementation with schools. This often includes webinars, they said. 

When asked if there was a plan to assist schools with implementation, a spokesperson for the department did not answer directly but shared that it would be available to provide technical assistance and other resources when deemed appropriate. 

Democratic House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., disagreed with her Republican counterparts, telling Fox News Digital in a statement, "I’m grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for defending gender equality and protecting the safety and well-being of students across the country.

"We must stand up for the basic dignity of every person amid so much hateful rhetoric and violence against [transgender] youth and women."