Nebraska Bathroom Bill, Youth Gender-Affirming Care Ban Likely To Fail Amid Opposition From Deciding Republican Vote

Speaking to Transitics, Republican State Senator Merv Riepe said he will oppose his party's efforts to restrict trans people’s bathroom use and healthcare access. Those attacks can't pass without him.

Senator Merv Riepe | Image: Nebraska Legislature

Nebraska is a bit of an anomaly. It’s the only state to have a unicameral legislature, one of two states to split its electoral votes by Congressional district, and one of three states to consider 18-year-olds to be minors. When compared to its Republican-led neighbors, this uniqueness also extends to transgender rights: the state doesn’t entirely ban gender-affirming care for minors or restrict trans people’s bathroom use in any way, and trans people can update their IDs fairly easily.

Of course, that’s not to say Nebraska Republicans, who have a filibuster-proof majority, haven’t leaned into transphobic messaging. In fact, one state senator in particular, Kathleen Kauth, has essentially made it her entire platform. Since her appointment to the legislature in June 2022, Kauth has introduced bills concerning gender-affirming care, bathrooms, sports, and more, and so far, two of her attempts have passed.

The first of these, Kauth’s LB 574, was passed in 2023. That bill, which also mostly prohibited abortions after 12 weeks, banned gender-affirming surgeries for minors—in Nebraska, anyone under 19—and imposed new restrictions—most notably, a 40-hour therapy requirement prior to treatment—on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans youth. Then, last year, the legislature passed LB 89, branded by Kauth as being the “Stand with Women Act,” a sports ban.

And even then, Kauth has never actually gotten her way. In fact, both of these times, her bills had to be significantly watered down after facing stiff opposition from an unlikely source: another Republican, State Senator Merv Riepe.

While most Republicans opposed to anti-trans laws—like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Kansas Rep. Mark Schreiber, and Ohio Rep. Jamie Callender—have ultimately had little sway on the final outcome, the same can’t be said about Riepe. Since taking office in early 2023, Riepe has often been the deciding vote on breaking the Democratic filibuster, which requires a two-thirds majority.

And he isn’t afraid to use that power. In exchange for his vote on LB 574, he demanded that the 6-week abortion ban be changed to 12 weeks and forced Kauth to replace the total gender-affirming care ban she had initially proposed with the regulations discussed earlier. But at the same time, after speaking with trans constituents, Riepe withdrew his support for Kauth’s companion bill LB 575, the “Sports and Spaces Act,” out of opposition to the bathroom provisions, effectively killing it. When the bill came up the next year, it again failed after Riepe and another GOP senator—Tom Brandt, who, unlike Riepe, supported the outright ban on care for trans youth—refused to vote for it.

Then, in 2025, Kauth introduced the aforementioned LB 89, which, along with banning trans people from sports and bathrooms in all government buildings, also contained a provision writing trans people out of government recognition. However, because Riepe promised to oppose it once more if it went beyond sports, Kauth was forced to amend it and remove the other provisions. When asked about the bill, Riepe quipped that he “did not run for office to become part of the ‘Nebraska State Potty Patrol.’”

This year, Kauth has continued to escalate her attacks, introducing 3 bills—LB 730, 731, and 732—and 1 resolution—LR 301—targeting the trans community. More specifically, LB 730 contains the stripped bathroom portion of LB 89, LB 731 (similar to a bill in Missouri) would allow detransitioners to sue their providers over “malpractice” up to 12 years later and require any insurance company that has ever covered gender-affirming care to cover medical detransition, LB 732 aims to implement a total ban on care for trans youth, and LR 301 would commission a study on whether or not allowing a child to medically or socially transition constitutes child abuse. Kauth also stated last month that she believed Riepe would now support the bathroom bill.

But, speaking to Transitics over the weekend, Riepe held firm on his unwillingness to impose further restrictions on trans Nebraskans. Rejecting Kauth’s earlier characterization, Riepe said he was “against” LB 730, saying, “I opposed it in 2025, and it makes even less sense in 2026.” Like he did last year, he again stated he’s “not interested in being the potty police.”

When asked about the bills pertaining to gender-affirming care, he was similarly unequivocal: “I’m going to oppose both LB 731 and 732. Every case is different, and this needs to be left up to physicians and families. The government should not interfere with these decisions.” While LR 301 did not come up during the conversation, it is yet to attract support from other senators and has not been given a hearing.

Riepe also bucked the idea that GOP pressure will change his mind.

“They have no leverage over me,” he said. “The Nebraska Republican Party has already censured me, I have no aspirations to run for higher office, and I’m from a purple-ish district, so my constituents are better about these things.” It’s worth noting that Riepe, whose district voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, is running for reelection this November.

But after I thanked him for having the courage to go against his party, he offered a different view: “I’m not a hero—I’m just a stubborn German.”

If Riepe’s position holds like it has in previous years, this represents a massive victory. Simply put, without his support, these bills will not pass. So, at least until next year, it seems like trans Nebraskans are safe from the attacks that are being pushed in neighboring states like Kansas and Missouri. And strangely, they have a Republican to thank for that.