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Rand Paul grills Biden’s education nominee with transphobic questions

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Rand Paul was the picture of bitterness as he repeatedly pushed questions on transgender student athletes to Joe Biden’s education secretary nominee, Miguel Cardona.

President Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office allowing trans students to participate in the sporting events that match their gender identity.

This inclusive order seemed baffling to Rand, who was determined to press the matter during Cardona’s confirmation hearing in the Senate on Wednesday (3 February).

“If you’re confirmed, will you enforce that Office of Civil Rights opinion?” he asked the nominee.

“I understand that there are a lot of concerns about that,” Cardona replied neutrally. “If confirmed, it’s my responsibility and my privilege to make sure that we’re following civil rights of all students, and that includes activities that they may engage in high school or athletics.”

This wasn’t enough for the far-right senator, who demanded to know Cardona’s personal opinion on what he sees as “biological males” competing in girls’ sports.

“What do you think in general of boys running in girls’ track meets like they’ve been doing in Connecticut?” he asked.

Cardona, who began his career as a teacher and later a school principal, reiterated that it is “critically important” that schools respect the rights of all students – “including students who are transgender” – and that they are afforded the opportunities that every other child has.

Rand Paul persisted his line of questioning, with the exchange growing increasingly tense as he failed to get the answer he was searching for.

“Do you worry, having boys running in girls’ track meets?” he asked sardonically, repeating claims that cis female athletes would lose out on scholarships and be “pushed out” of sports.

Cardona remained measured in his response, replying correctly that it is the legal responsibility of schools to provide opportunities for trans students to participate.

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“So you don’t have a problem then, boys running in the girls’ track meets, swimming meets, you name it, you’re OK then with boys competing with girls?” Rand pushed.

“Respectfully, senator, I think I answered the question,” Cardona said finally.

Trans rights advocates and scientists maintain there is no evidence that trans girls and women actually have an unfair advantage over their cisgender counterparts.

It’s been noted that athletes, male or female, transgender or cisgender, can have competitive advantages for many reasons besides hormones such as testosterone (usually cited as giving advantage to trans females), including body size, access to training, and more.

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Trump Eviscerated by Lesbian Niece Mary for ‘Orchestrating’ Riots

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As violent white supremacists attacked the US Capitol, and democracy itself, on Wednesday (6 January), Mary Trump called out her uncle for ‘orchestrating’ the insurrection.

An armed, extremist mob of Donald Trump supporters breached the US Capitol, storming the rotunda and breaking into the Senate chamber to fire tear gas at senators in a bid to overturn the US election result as the Electoral College votes were counted by Congress.

The election has now been certified by Congress as a win for Democratic president-elect Joe Biden and his vice president-elect Kamala Harris.

The pro-Trump rioters descended on the Capitol on the president’s instructions, moving from the “March to Save America” to the seat of the legislative branch of the US government, violently breaching the complex while holding Confederate flags, tearing down four layers of security fencing and fighting federal police.

Four people were killed during the riots – one woman was shot by police, while three others died as a result of “medical emergencies”, officials said. Fourteen police officers were injured.

As the terrifying chaos was unfolding, the lame duck president’s lesbian niece Mary Trump took to Twitter to call out her uncle for his role in the attack.

“Make no mistake, the so-called leader of our country, who swore to protect and defend the Constitution, directed a horde of white supremacist domestic terrorists to stage a coup to overturn a legitimately decided election,” she said.

“He isn’t just encouraging them, he IS them.

As the riots continued, she added: “Why are these f**king traitors not being held at gunpoint, handcuffed, and arrested

“It’s not a mystery – this was allowed to happen.”

Hours after the Capitol riots began, the president finally made a video statement via Twitter, which has since been removed by the social media platform, in which he told the extremists: “We love you, you’re very special.

Mary Trump responded: “Pouring gasoline on the fire under the guise of pretending to put it out. None of his statements should be aired.”

As well as criticising her uncle, she denounced the “abject failure of the DC police force” in combatting the riots, and added that “every seditionist House member who supported and encouraged this attempted coup needs to be expelled”.