Donald Trump’s hyperfocus on California continues with his latest threat toward the state, where he has declared that schools risk losing federal funding if they don’t follow his directives on trans athletes.
As is usually the case, Trump took to Truth Social to release a statement on the matter. The president said, “Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our Transgender policies, will not be funded. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
This is not the first time Trump has been hyperfocused on the state’s treatment of trans athletes who are still in school. When he first tried to push this directive, Governor Gavin Newsom pushed back and reminded the president that California’s major economy means they contribute more than they receive from the national pie. He even said he might consider withholding tax payments if Trump kept pressing the issue.
Of course, that threat from Newsom was also not particularly tenable, since a majority of California residents pay their taxes directly to the federal government through the IRS. Still, the point for both Newsom and Trump has been standing firm in their beliefs. Trump initially backed off, but as schools resume session, he has returned to focusing on this particular topic.
According to The Hill, the Justice Department took legal action against California last month over its refusal to comply with the president’s directive. The DOJ is suing the California Education Department and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) for “illegal sex discrimination against female student athletes.”
In February, when Trump was issuing a slew of executive orders, one of them specifically targeted transgender students, particularly those in sports. The executive order opposed “male competitive participation” in gendered sports categories such as swimming. It further declared that federal funding would be pulled from any institutions refusing to comply.
Progressives across the country criticized the move, preferring to view the issue on a case-by-case basis. In California, the CIF stated it would continue to allow student athletes to compete in categories that match their gender identities. This has now left the state and Trump’s administration locked in yet another stalemate, following the infamous deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles.
All of this is happening against the backdrop of Newsom using his X page to mock Trump’s loud social media style — much to the annoyance of Trump’s allies such as JD Vance and Fox News. They have ironically labeled it both annoying and unprofessional. Still, it seems very likely that Newsom will deploy the same tactic again to agitate Trump on this ongoing trans-related issue in California.
As of now, Newsom’s representatives cannot be reached, and he has not issued any public statement on the matter. For better or worse, we are all waiting with bated breath to see what his next post on X will say about the issue.
It remains highly unlikely that either California or Trump will back down from their positions on trans athletes in schools. But if Trump follows through with his threat to defund school districts that support trans student athletes, it would mark an escalation never before seen in modern U.S. history.
