The Trump administration sued California on Wednesday for allowing trans athletes to compete with school sports teams that match their gender identity, claiming that state officials violated federal civil rights laws by discriminating against women.
The lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California, alleges that California is violating Title IX. It argues that this is a federal law of 1972 that prohibits gender-based discrimination in educational programs or activities that receive federal funds.
“Title IX was enacted more than half a century ago to protect women and girls from discrimination,” Attorney General Halham K. Dillon said in a statement. “The Justice Department does not support policies that take away girls’ hard-earned athletic trophies and ignore safety in the field or in private spaces. Young women don’t have to sacrifice their rights to compete for scholarships, opportunities and awards at the awakened altar of gender ideology.”
California officials denied any fraud. Earlier this week, the state rejected the Trump administration’s request to ban trans athletes from girls’ and girls’ school sports teams. California law protects LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination, while national education policies specifically allow athletic ability participation based on student gender identity.
The conflict essentially goes beyond the contradictory interpretation of civil rights law and has long been expected to end up in court.
California officials were unable to immediately comment.
A large amount of federal funds could be dependent on the conflict. President Trump has repeatedly threatened federal aid from California on a variety of issues, including state programs aimed at promoting racial diversity and efforts to protect fraudulent immigration from federal immigration enforcement.
The lawsuit threatens to elicit immediate and future aid and apply penalties.
“The lawsuit seeks declarative, injunctive and damages for a violation of Title IX,” according to the release of the U.S. Department of Education. The federal complaint is that the US Department of Education’s “current fund allocation” [the California Department of Education] The total for fiscal year 2025 was approximately $44.3 billion, of which approximately $3.8 billion is available for reductions.
This is an developing story that will be updated with additional information.
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