The Trump administration early Wednesday filed court documents charging the state of California with violating federal law by allowing transgender athletes to compete in school sports, according to documentation obtained by Newsmax chief Washington correspondent James Rosen.
The Department of Justice is citing Title IX, the 1972 law banning sex-based discrimination and activities that receive federal funding, and names two defendants, the California Interscholastic Federation and the California Department of Education, Rosen reported on “National Report.”
“The California Department of Education is taking federal money, which is accompanied by a promise when they applied for those grants, to follow federal law as defined, including executive orders,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told Rosen in an interview.
“So it is really, really clear — open and shut — that California is in violation of federal law while taking federal money, which has strings attached to it,” she added. “So, sorry, California, you can’t have it both ways.”
At stake is up to $44 billion a year in federal funding.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday threatened a lawsuit against California, posting on X that “California has just REJECTED our resolution agreement to follow federal law and keep men out of women’s sports. Turns out Gov. [Gavin] Newsom’s acknowledgment that ‘it’s an issue of fairness’ was empty political grandstanding. @CAgovernor, you’ll be hearing from @AGPamBondi.”
The DOJ, in its lawsuit, claims that the California Interscholastic Federation and the California Department of Education violated the civil rights of girls across California by not only allowing transgender students to participate in female athletic competition, but also to share intimate spaces such as girls’ locker rooms.
“As one example of what the DOJ calls a flagrant violation of Title IX and President [Donald] Trump’s executive order from February, [it] cites the [CIF] High School Track and Field Championships that were held in May in Clovis, California, where a transgender student won the gold in the girls high jump and triple jump,” said Rosen.
The DOJ is also claiming a “smoking gun” because three days before the event, the CIF changed its rules, creating a pilot entry process allowing biological females to win a medal if kept out of the top three finishers by a transgender student.
“The California Interscholastic Federation, the Justice Department says in its suit, through the pilot entry process and its references to ‘biological female has acknowledged the inherent athletic advantage males have over biological females, and that allowing males to compete in female athletic competitions displaces girls and denies girls equal athletic opportunities,’” said Rosen.
California could continue allowing transgender athletes to compete in female competitions but would forfeit its federal funding if it loses the lawsuit.
Dhillon, when asked if the DOJ will seek an emergency injunction against California to keep it from receiving the funds while the litigation is pending, said that there are still a “few billion” dollars that have not been drawn down yet.
“We have the money, so transferring that money is dependent on California being in compliance with federal law,” she said. “So you don’t need to seek an injunction necessarily. I think we hold the cards in that regard.”
In June, California sued Dhillon and Attorney General Pam Bondi on allegations that the DOJ’s demands are unconstitutional and violate the equal protection rights of transgender students.
