Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) admitted to FBI Director Kash Patel during a Tuesday hearing that there are, in fact, biological differences between men and women that can greatly impact their physical capabilities.
Hirono, who has repeatedly advocated for men to be allowed to self-identify as females and play in girls’ and women’s sports leagues, complained during the hearing that FBI applicants were expected to do one pull-up regardless of whether they were male or female.
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“One question I had is that you are now requiring applicants to be able to do a certain kind of pull-ups, which a lot of women can not because of physiological differences,” Hirono said. “Are you requiring these kinds of pull-ups?”
“We are requiring the physical program at BFTC (Basic Field Training Course) at Quantico because FBI agents carrying guns in the field, have to chase down bad guys, and do really hard work,” Patel replied. “The physical fitness standards of those agents —”
“So are you requiring these kinds of pull-ups?” Hirono interrupted.
“We are requiring everybody to pass the standards at BFTC,” Patel replied. “If you want to chase down a bad guy and put him in handcuffs you better be able to do a pull-up.”
“The reason I ask is that there are concerns about whether or not being able to do these kinds of harsh pull-ups is really required of FBI agents,” Hirono tried again.
“Doing one pull-up is not harsh,” Patel shot back, adding, “And there are always medical exemptions to them.”
Hirono, as recently as April of this year, was complaining about Republican efforts to bar men from playing in women’s sports in spite of the same “physiological differences” she raised concerns about at Tuesday’s hearing.
“Trans rights are being eradicated,” she claimed. “Gender self-identification on federal documents are prohibited, specific bathroom access is restricted, trans people are banned from the military, and trans girls can’t compete on girls’ sports teams in school.”
