(The Center Square) — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a letter to the California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees high school sports for both private and public schools in California, warning that the state could lose federal funding and face lawsuits for allowing biological males to compete against girls — which she says violates Title IX and thus federal law.
“The Department of Justice does not want to have to sue states or state entities, or to seek termination of their federal funds. We only want states and state entities to comply with the law,” wrote Bondi. “And federal law requires giving girls an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by ensuring that girls need to compete only with other girls, not with boys.”
On Feb. 5, President Donald Trump signed his “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order banning biological men from competing in female sports, citing his earlier order on transgenderism titled, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
“President Trump recently directed the Department of Justice and the Department of Education to prioritize enforcement actions against athletic associations that deny girls an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them to compete against boys,” wrote Bondi. “Yet in response, state athletic associations – including California’s – have issued defiant statements saying that they would continue requiring girls to compete against boys in sports and athletic events.”
Trump also has ordered that doctors no longer provide Americans under 19 with gender-changing surgical or hormonal interventions.
Notably, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a warning to hospitals that under state law, they cannot withhold “hormone therapies” and “gender-affirming surgeries” from minors and are in violation of state law if they otherwise offer similar interventions to “cisgender” individuals seeking changes to better align with their birth genders, such as individuals with births or hormonal issues.
Bondi’s letter says that under the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, federal law trumps state law and that CIF must abide by Title IX rules as a result.
“It therefore does not matter if California state law allows, or even requires, state athletic associations or other similar entities to require girls to compete against boys in sports and athletic events,” wrote Bondi. “Where federal and state law conflict, states and state entities are required to follow federal law.”
