House Oversight Subcommittee grills USA Fencing on transgender participation as partisan rift over jurisdiction intensifies

House Oversight and Reform subcommittee members held a three‑hour hearing that centered on USA Fencing’s policy for transgender athletes in women’s events and broader questions about the committee’s jurisdiction.

The hearing foregrounded testimony from two women athletes who said they lost opportunities or were physically harmed after competing against biological men. Stephanie Turner, a competitive fencer, told lawmakers that "each time a man competes in the women's category ... it removes fair sport and takes opportunities from women." Peyton McNabb testified that on Sept. 1, 2022, "the force of the ball knocked me down unconscious" and that doctors diagnosed a traumatic brain injury and a brain bleed after a spike during a high‑school volleyball game.

The USA Fencing board chair, Damien LaFeldt, appeared under subpoena and described the organization as a national governing body (NGB) that must consider international federation rules and the Ted…