Gen-Z congressman: Republicans 'want government to be in children's pants'

Editor's note: The previous version of this article labeled Frost as a Republican. He is a Democrat. AlterNet apologizes for the error.

U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) exploded on House Republicans during Wednesday’s debate on legislation that would ban all transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports in public schools across the country.

The “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023,” makes it illegal for “a recipient of Federal financial assistance who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.”

The bill defines “sex” as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

The legislation is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), a far-right-wing extremist who also co-sponsored a federal vigilante “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

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Steube signed a GOP-sponsored U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief that contested the 2020 presidential election of Joe Biden. He also voted on January 6, 2021, to not certify the 2020 election, and days later voted against impeaching then-President Donald Trump. He later voted against Congress awarding law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol during the 2021 insurrection with Congressional Gold Medals.

Congressman Frost did not hold back his outrage.

“This morning I called a 12-year-old in my district who is worried about their future as a non-binary kid in this country,” Frost told his House colleagues. “They should be playing and learning, not writing to their Congress member desperate to not lose their right to exist.”

“These are the priorities of the Republican majority,” Rep. Frost said. “Not addressing gun violence, rising medical bills, but violating the privacy of children. And I’m glad I get previews, I get special previews of what this Republican majority is going to try to do in this body because they’re simply taking bills that are being passed in Florida and across the South, horrible bills, and trying to get them passed up here.”

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“This isn’t about a problem that needs a solution but about politicians looking for a target,” the Florida Democrat declared.

“We want freedom and liberty for all of our people and they want the government to be in children’s pants,” Frost added. “Disgusting.”

“History will not look kindly on this. Trans people will continue to fight for equity. We will be right by their side and we will win.”

Congressman Steuben’s anti-transgender bill has 94 Republican co-sponsors.

Watch Rep. Frost below or at this link.