USA Fencing transgender controversy escalates at DOGE hearing with social media regrets, calls for resignation

USA Fencing chair Damien Lehfeldt was grilled by the DOGE subcommittee after Stephanie Turner was punished for refusing to face a trans competitor.

Just six weeks after women's fencer Stephanie Turner was disqualified and escorted out of a tournament for kneeling in protest of a trans opponent, she watched the man in charge of her punishment get grilled for it in a federal hearing. 

USA Fencing Chair Damien Lehfeldt was grilled by Republican lawmakers at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee's "Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports" hearing on Wednesday. 

After the hearing, Turner told Fox News Digital that she would devote herself and her platform to pushing for resignations among key leadership figures in USA Fencing. 

"I'm going to be pushing for people to resign, to be honest. I'd like to see some people resign for the comments that they've made, especially publicly, ones that are harassing and meant to humiliate concerned women, mothers and daughters," Turner said. 

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, center, speaks to Stephanie Turner, left, a fencer who refused to compete against a transgender athlete, and Payton McNabb, a former North Carolina high school volleyball player who was injured by a transgender opponent during the hearing on "Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports" held by the Department of Government Efficiency Subcommittee at the U.S. Capitol on May 7, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

USA Fencing has provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing Turner's calls for leadership change. 

"We respect Ms. Turner’s right to share her views. The volunteer members of USA Fencing’s Board, elected by