Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona dodged several questions Wednesday on whether there is a physical difference between men and women.
Republican Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) pressed Cardona at the House Appropriations Committee budget hearing after the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced that only biological females can play in women’s sports at the 240-plus universities it represents.
“Would you agree that Title IX was necessary to help establish women’s sports because women can’t fairly be expected to compete on biological male teams?” Harris asked.
Cardona began to change the subject, stating that he refuses to discuss the NAIA’s new rule despite the Education Department currently deciding on a rule-making process regarding Title IX.
“Would you agree that women are physically different from men?” Harris asked.
“I see where you’re going with this,” Cardona said before Harris cut him off again.
“I would love to talk about how we can work together to support the students,” Cardona began, dodging Harris’s question.
“Mr. Secretary, do you agree that biological women are different from biological men physically?” he asked. “This is a simple question for an educator. You’re not going to answer. Okay.”
This is not the first time Cardona has refused to admit there are physical differences between men and women.
In April 2023, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) asked Cardona to answer what it means to be a “woman.”
The Biden official refused to address the question in a tense back-and-forth exchange. That same month, Cardona also would not go on record saying that “a biological male who self-identifies as a woman should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.” Instead, he only responded that “all students” should have access to school sports.
Earlier this year, the Education Department sent a reformed Title IX policy to the Biden Administration for its evaluation— which will advocate for an increase in protections for transgender people in sports.