(TNND) — House lawmakers took part Wednesday in a heated hearing on transgender participation in women's sports.

Two female athletes, including a young woman who made headlines recently by taking a knee against a transgender competitor in a fencing bout, called for greater protections of biological females in sports.

And Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the chair of the hearing’s subcommittee, verbally sparred with her Democratic colleagues who questioned the purpose of the hearing.

Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat from New Mexico, even made a failed motion to adjourn the hearing before witnesses could speak.

The hearing, titled "Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports," was held by the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, part of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Stansbury said in her opening comments that the hearing “literally has nothing to do” with government efficiency, the aim of that particular subcommittee, and called for the quick adjournment.

The members voted and denied the adjournment by a narrow margin, so the hearing continued.

“I do want to say welcome to our guests and to your families,” Stansbury said. “We do appreciate all of you coming here to tell your stories. But I want to make clear that this hearing is actually not about oversight or DOGE but about spreading hate and using trans lives to distract from the real issues that Americans are facing, from attacks on our economy to attacks on our democracy to attacks on our communities."

Four witnesses were called to testify.

Stephanie Turner is a female fencer who took a knee to protest competing against a transgender athlete.

Damien Lehfeldt is the chair of USA Fencing, the sport’s national governing body that supports over 700 affiliated clubs and 45,000 members.

Payton McNabb is a former high school volleyball player who was seriously hurt when a transgender athlete spiked a ball that hit her in the head.

Fatima Goss Graves is the CEO of the National Women’s Law Center.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in early February aimed at barring transgender female athletes from competing in women's or girls' sports.

Greene said in her opening remarks that she looked “forward to fighting and winning the battle to keep men out of women's sports, alongside President Trump and brave women like Stephanie and Payton who are here today.”

The Georgia Republican cited a New York Times/Ipsos survey from January that found 79% of Americans don’t support transgender athletes competing in women's sports.

“Female athletes should never be forced to compete against mentally ill biological men who parade around in women's clothes,” Greene said. “But we'll hear from witnesses today who had to face off against biological male competitors. This led one to suffer a life-altering physical injury from a volleyball spike to her head. The other was thrown out of a recent fencing competition for refusing to compete against a man. Why is this happening when we have federal laws on the books intended to foster women's sports?”

Turner said USA Fencing has over 200 self-declared members who identify as transgender.

“Each time a man competes in the women’s category with USA Fencing’s support, it removes fair sport and takes opportunities from women,” Turner told lawmakers.

She said biological males have an advantage with speed and power in the combat sport.

“That knee I took in protest was a cry for help and an act of desperation,” Turner said, telling lawmakers that it took her a long time to work up the courage to speak out about the perceived wrongs being committed against female fencers.

Turner said she felt “betrayed” and “unwelcome” by USA Fencing.

Lehfeldt, the chair of USA Fencing, told lawmakers that gender participation is a complex topic.

But, he said, “Considerations of safety and fairness are paramount.”

Lehfeldt said USA Fencing is governed by the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, which he said forbids organizations like his from adopting eligibility criteria that are stricter than the sport’s international federation.

The International Fencing Federation doesn’t ban transgender participation, he said.

And the consensus among national governing bodies, including USA Fencing, is that a transgender ban could violate the Ted Stevens Act, he said.

He said USA Fencing is prepared to change participation requirements if the law, research or international consensus changes.

But, he said, “Ultimately, fencing is a sport of strategy and technique.”

And Lehfeldt said it’s his belief that transgender competitors don’t have an inherent advantage over female competitors.

Cisgender women have beaten transgender women in 55% of bouts USA Fencing has data for, he said.

McNabb, the former volleyball player, told lawmakers that she’s now an advocate for biological female athletes after her sports-playing days were cut short.

“I’ve decided to turn my pain into purpose,” she said.

McNabb said she was knocked unconscious and suffered a brain injury when she was struck by a volleyball that was spiked by a transgender opponent.

McNabb said she’s calling for more state-level laws defining what constitutes a female athlete and protecting biological female athletes.

Goss Graves told lawmakers that transgender bans are discriminatory and, in her view, they hurt all women.

Goss Graves said there are other inequities in female athletics that are being ignored after the Trump administration laid off federal Education Department staff.

“As an expert in women’s rights in sports and in society, I want to be clear here: Transgender women do not pose a threat to women’s sports. Transgender women belong in sports,” Goss Graves said.