The Trump administration on Wednesday sued California for allowing transgender athletes to compete on school sports teams that match their gender identity, alleging state officials violated federal civil rights law by discriminating against women, a legal action that threatens billions of dollars in federal education funds.
The suit, filed in the Central District of California, alleges that California is in violation of Title IX, a 1972 federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.
“Title IX was enacted over half a century ago to protect women and girls from discrimination,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement. “The Justice Department will not stand for policies that deprive girls of their hard-earned athletic trophies and ignore their safety on the field and in private spaces. Young women should not have to sacrifice their rights to compete for scholarships, opportunities, and awards on the altar of woke gender ideology.”
California officials have denied any wrongdoing. Earlier this week the state rejected demands by the Trump administration to bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s school sports teams. California law protects LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination and state education policy specifically allows athletic participation based on a student’s gender identity.
The clash, essentially, is over conflicting interpretations of civil rights law — and it was long expected to end up court.
California officials were not immediately available for comment.
Massive amounts of federal funding could be at stake in the conflict. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull federal aid from California over various issues — including state programs intended to promote racial diversity and efforts to protect unauthorized immigrants from federal immigration enforcement.
The litigation threatens to pull immediate and future aid and also apply penalties.
“The suit seeks declaratory, injunctive and damages relief for violations of Title IX,” according to the U.S. Department of Education release. The federal complaint notes that the U.S. Department of Education’s “current allocation of funds to [the California Department of Education] for fiscal year 2025 totals approximately $44.3 billion, of which approximately $3.8 billion remains available for drawdown … including both discretionary grants and formula grants.”
This is a developing story that will be updated with additional information.
