The Trump administration has sued Minnesota and its school athletics governing body over the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ sports. The Justice Department alleges the state Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League are violating Title IX, a federal law against sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal money.
The lawsuit claims Minnesota violates Title IX by allowing transgender girls to compete against cisgender girls and share spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms. The state receives over $3 billion annually in federal funding, contingent on Title IX compliance, according to the Justice Department. The administration seeks a court order prohibiting transgender girls from participating in girls’ prep sports.
This action follows similar lawsuits against Maine and California, and threats to federal funding for universities. Minnesota officials have previously resisted federal efforts to ban trans athletes, filing a preemptive lawsuit last April asserting state law supersedes presidential executive orders and claiming existing Title IX compliance. A ruling on the federal government’s motion to dismiss that case is pending.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison described the lawsuit as “a sad attempt to get attention.” Attorney General Pam Bondi stated the administration “does not tolerate flawed state policies that ignore biological reality and unfairly undermine girls on the playing field.”