The Trump administration sued California Wednesday for allegedly violating federal law with policies that allow transgender student athletes to compete on school sports teams that align with their gender identities.
The lawsuit is the latest escalation of the administration’s back and forth with the state, which has refused to follow an executive order President Donald Trump signed in February that would bar federal funding from schools that allow trans girls and women to compete on female school sports teams.
The Justice Department alleges in its complaint that the California Department of Education, or CDE, and the California Interscholastic Federation, or CIF, a nonprofit independent sports governing body, have violated Title IX, a civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.
“The Governor of California has previously admitted that it is ‘deeply unfair’ to force women and girls to compete with men and boys in competitive sports,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement, referring to a comment Gov. Gavin Newsom made on his podcast in March. “But not only is it ‘deeply unfair,’ it is also illegal under federal law. This Department of Justice will continue its fight to protect equal opportunities for women and girls in sports.”
The Department of Education has allocated $44.3 billion in funds to CDE for 2025, according to the complaint, of which $3.8 billion is still available for the CDE to withdraw.
Scott Roark, the CDE’s public information officer, and Christina Shannon, the assistant to the executive director for the CIF, both said in emails that they cannot comment on legal matters.
Newsom is not a named plaintiff in the lawsuit. However, Elana Ross, a spokesperson for his office, said the CIF and the CDE are following existing state law, “a law that was passed in 2013, signed by Governor Jerry Brown, and in line with 21 other states.”
“NO COURT HAS ADOPTED THE INTERPRETATION OF TITLE IX ADVANCED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND NEITHER the Governor, nor THEY, get to wave a magic wand and override it — unlike Donald Trump, California follows the law,” Ross said in an emailed statement. “At a time when the Trump administration is withholding billions in funds for education, this ongoing attack is a cynical attempt to distract from the Trump administration’s defunding of nearly 3 million girls enrolled in California’s public school.”
Trump’s executive order regarding trans athlete participation is based on his administration’s interpretation of Title IX and essentially reversed a rule the Biden administration issued last April clarifying that Title IX protects LGBTQ students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Biden’s administration proposed a different rule under Title IX in 2023 that would have prohibited blanket bans on trans athlete participation. However, after repeated delays, the administration withdrew the proposal in December 2024 and then issued the broad rule protecting LGBTQ students in April.
More than half of states have enacted measures restricting trans students’ participation in school sports, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank. California is one of 21 states that does not and has had a state law allowing trans students to compete on school sports teams that align with their gender identities since 2013.
The back and forth between the Trump administration and California began just after Trump signed the executive order regarding trans athletes in February. That same month, the CIF said it would follow state law, and not Trump’s executive order. Then, days later, the Education Department opened an investigation into the CIF and then began investigating the California Department of Education in April.
The administration said last month that its investigation found both the CDE and the CIF violated Title IX, and it gave both organizations 10 days to voluntarily change the policies “or risk imminent enforcement action,” including referral to the Justice Department for “proceedings.” The Education Department also proposed a resolution agreement with a list of actions the organizations would need to take to bring the state into compliance with Trump’s executive order.
On Monday, the CDE told the Education Department in a letter that it disagreed with the investigation’s findings and would not sign the proposed resolution agreement. The CIF said it agreed with the CDE and would also not sign the agreement. That same day, Education Secretary Linda McMahon threatened the state with legal action in a post on social media.
The heated exchanges were fueled in part by Trump’s criticism of AB Hernandez, a trans track-and-field athlete whose participation he described as “NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS” on Truth Social in May.
At the state championships that month, Hernandez placed first in the triple jump, tied for first with two competitors in the high jump and placed second in the long jump. Due to a new pilot entry process from the CIF, which it announced shortly after Trump’s criticism, Hernandez shared each podium with cisgender girls who would’ve placed after her if not for the new policy.
