Trump administration says California violated Title IX by letting trans athletes compete

The Trump administration said California violated Title IX by allowing transgender students to compete on school sports teams that align with their gender identities.

The Trump administration said Wednesday that California violated Title IX by allowing transgender student-athletes to compete on school sports teams that align with their gender identities.

The administration has given the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation, a nonprofit independent sports governing body, 10 days to voluntarily change the policies “or risk imminent enforcement action,” including referral to the Justice Department for “proceedings.”

“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 CIF 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,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement, referring to a comment Newsom made on his podcast in March.

She added that the state “must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX,” a civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities, “or face the consequences that follow,” which could include losing funding.

Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, in an emailed statement alluded to the several threats President Donald Trump has made to cut California’s federal funding and McMahon’s former role as a professional wrestling executive.