Photo: Alamy
Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday threatened legal action against California after the state refused to comply with the Trump administration’s directive to ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports.
“California has just REJECTED our resolution agreement to follow federal law and keep men out of women’s sports,” McMahon wrote on X.
“Turns out Gov. Newsom’s acknowledgment that ‘it’s an issue of fairness’ was empty political grandstanding. @CAgovernor, you’ll be hearing from @AGPamBondi,” she added.
McMahon’s remarks mark an escalation in the ongoing national debate over transgender athletes and the conflict between President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The Trump administration has made the exclusion of transgender athletes from women’s sports a key education policy priority since returning to office in January.
California has permitted student-athletes to compete in alignment with their gender identity since 2013, setting the state on a collision course with the federal government.
In June, the Education Department announced that California was in violation of Title IX, as interpreted by the Trump administration, and demanded changes to the state’s policy. California rejected the directive and preemptively filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice.
“Although Governor Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was ‘deeply unfair’ to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions,” McMahon said in a June statement.
“The Trump Administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law. The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow,” she stated.
The CIF, which oversees high school athletics in the state, made accommodations during June’s track and field championships in response to public outcry. Girls who were displaced from the finals by a transgender athlete were allowed to compete, and athletes who would have medaled in the absence of the transgender competitor were permitted to appear on the podium.
As a result, two athletes were named co-champions in the girls’ high jump and triple jump after AB Hernandez, a transgender athlete, won both events.