New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who voted against banning biological males from girls sports, now says it’s an issue that should be “policed” at the local level. It’s a significant reversal for a senator who until recently backed legislation mandating that males who identify as female should be treated as though they were born female.
Last week, Shaheen joined all of her fellow Democrats in a filibuster that kept the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act from coming to the Senate floor for a vote. That despite polls showing Americans support the ban by a 79-18 percent margin.
Shaheen, 78, was asked by Fox News about her vote, particularly with a potential election looming in 2026.
“I listened to what I heard in New Hampshire, and what we heard from people who were keeping track of how many — Charlie Baker, for example, who heads the NCAA, who said that it only applies to one person. I don’t think we need legislation to do that,” Shaheen said in the interview.
“I think we can police it through the organizations,” she added.
Shaheen’s stance that people who identify as female should be “policed” by local organizations, unlike those born female, is a drastic shift for a Democrat who sponsored the so-called “Equality Act.” That bill would have forced states and localities to treat “gender identity” the same as biological sex.
Shaheen declined to respond to multiple requests for comment about her stance.
Shaheen’s shift comes in the wake of widely-publicized comments from likely 2028 presidential candidate Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) on the issue. In his debut podcast last week, he said allowing biological males to compete against women was “deeply unfair.”
With two Democrat incumbents having already announced their retirement from the Senate — and Shaheen still silent on her 2026 plans — the party appears to have seized upon Newsom’s comments as an opportunity to reverse course on an unpopular position.
Their new stance: State’s rights.
In an article headlined “Senate Democrats Punt on Trans Rights in Women’s Sports,” Axios identifies Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the first openly gay person elected to the Senate, as a leader in this shift.
“Republicans in Washington are saying they know better than parents and local school districts,” Baldwin said in a statement. “They are wrong. I trust parents, schools and local sports leagues to make these decisions for their children.”
That view was echoed by New Jersey Democrat Sen. Cory Booker (“There are really important issues that we should be discussing on the local level”), and Connecticut’s Sen. Chris Murphy (“Every state and every community is going to come to their own decision on it”).
And it fits with Shaheen’s new “police” at the local level, too.
Why has Shaheen changed her views on this issue? Despite multiple requests for comment, she declined to respond.
National LGBTQ organizations have been vocal in their criticism of Newsom and Democrats who are moving toward the political center on this issue.
“What’s unfair is the targeting of transgender kids and politicians abandoning them for political expediency,” said U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs, vice chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called his comments “disgusting.”
“Our message to Gov. Newsom and all leaders across the country is simple: The path to 2028 isn’t paved with the betrayal of vulnerable communities —it’s built on the courage to stand up for what’s right and do the hard work to actually help the American people,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson.
However, none of the New Hampshire Democrats contacted by NHJournal, including members of the LGBTQ community, would comment regarding Shaheen’s comments.
Republicans, on the other hand, say Shaheen’s shift is too little, too late.
“Jeanne Shaheen stood by Joe Biden for four years as he destroyed Title IX. She’s voted twice to force young women to compete with biological males. Shaheen is out of touch with common sense and out of touch with New Hampshire,” said NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia.
