- The Washington Times - Thursday, March 5, 2026

No congressional hearing would be complete without a GOP lawmaker quizzing a Democratic witness on the definition of “woman.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, South Carolina Republican, did the honors at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing Wednesday as she questioned Democratic Gov. Tim Walz on the Minnesota fraud scandal.

“Gov. Walz, what is a woman? Have you learned that lesson? Do you know what a woman is?” asked Ms. Mace.



The Minnesota governor didn’t provide a direct answer, but he did accuse the Republican of having an “obsession.”

“I’m the governor of Minnesota, congresswoman,” he said. “I’m not here to be your prop or your obsession.”

Ms. Mace unloaded. “If you can’t define what a woman is, you certainly can’t define what fraud is. If you can’t even define what a woman is, you can’t define fraud,” she said.

You can’t say Mr. Walz wasn’t warned.

At a June hearing, the congresswoman stumped the governor with the same question.

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“I’m not sure I understand the question here. What do you want me to say?” Mr. Walz said.

She retorted: “I want you to say that a woman like me is an adult human female. That men can’t become women.”

Asking Democrats and their witnesses to define “woman” has become a surefire way for Republicans to score points during hearings.

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Democrats have yet to figure out how to answer without offending either the transgender-rights movement, which holds that biological males who identify as women are actually women, or the majority of Americans who believe sex is biologically based.

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.

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