Jen Psaki Defends Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports: ‘Trans Rights Are Human Rights’

White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, T
Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended Tuesday President Joe Biden’s executive order that opens up women’s sports to men who say they are transgender.

“The president’s belief is that trans rights are human rights, and that’s why he signed that executive order,” Psaki said when asked by a reporter to react to the issue in regard to competing in high school and college sports for scholarships.

Biden’s order requires public schools not to discriminate against transgender individuals or face the end of federal funds.

“Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports,” Biden wrote in his order.

Psaki deferred detailed questions about school sports disrupted by the president’s order to the institutions of education themselves.

“In terms of the determinations by universities and colleges, I would certainly defer to them,” she said.

Author Abigail Shrier expressed her concern about Biden’s order on social media.

“Biden unilaterally eviscerates women’s sports,” she wrote on Twitter after the text of the president’s order was released. “Any educational institution that receives federal funding must admit biologically-male athletes to women’s teams, women’s scholarships, etc.”

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