President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday sued California after the Department of Education found the state had discriminated against women by allowing transgender-identifying males in girls’ sports and spaces.
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division alleged in its complaint that the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) violated Title IX by forcing female high school athletes to be “displaced from podiums, denied awards, and miss out on critical visibility for scholarships and recognition.” Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities receiving federal funding.
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“This discrimination is not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys,” the complaint states. “It erodes the integrity of girls’ sports, diminishes their competitive experience, and undermines the very purpose of Title IX: to provide equal access to educational benefits, including interscholastic athletics.”
The complaint asks the U.S. District Court Central District of California to make the state compensate “female athletes who have been denied equal athletic opportunities…including correcting past athletics records,” follow Title IX as it was intended as a condition of receiving federal funding, and submit “regular compliance reports” for the next five years.
The DOJ noted in a press release that California’s compliance with Title IX is imperative, as the state has received $44.3 billion in federal funding this fiscal year.
The lawsuit comes after the state this week rejected the Department of Education’s proposed resolution agreement, which it sent to the CDE and CIF following its investigation. Education Secretary Linda McMahon subsequently told the state it would be hearing from Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“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,” Bondi said in a statement. “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.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department, Friday, June 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Both CIF and CDE told the New York Post they do not comment on pending litigation. A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) emphasized that no court has adopted the Trump administration’s interpretation of federal law, and that California is abiding by state law that allows athletes to play on teams that align with their self-professed “gender identity.”
“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,” the spokesperson added, according to the report.
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On February 5, Trump kept a major campaign promise and signed an executive order called “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports,” which states that under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, “educational institutions receiving Federal funds cannot deny women an equal opportunity to participate in sports”:
Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.
After Trump signed the order, CIF publicly announced its intentions to defy the administration and follow state laws giving preference to gender identity of biological reality.
The case is United States v. California Interscholastic Federation, No. 8:25-cv-1485 in the U.S. District Court Central District of California.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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