DOJ intervening in California trans athlete controversy as Trump monitors girls' track and field championship
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By Jackson Thompson
Published May 28, 2025
Attorney General Pam Bondi and the U.S. Department of Justice have turned their eye west in President Donald Trump's battle to counter a wave of trans athletes competing in girls' high school sports.
The DOJ announced an investigation into California's high school sports league, the CIF, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, to determine whether the state has violated Title IX by enabling trans athletes to compete in girls' sports since 2014.
"Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education. It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies," Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement. "This Division will aggressively defend women's hard-fought rights to equal educational opportunities."
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The office of United States Attorney Bill Essayli, who previously served as a California state lawmaker and fought on the ground to support families opposing trans athletes in girls' sports, is also involved in the investigation.
"The law is clear: Discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal and immoral," said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. "My office and the rest of the Department of Justice will work tirelessly to protect girls' sports and stop anyone – public officials included – from violating women's civil rights."
The announcement cites a current lawsuit filed by the families of two girls' high school athletes at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California. The announcement did not identify the plaintiffs by name.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the families of Taylor Starling and Kaitlyn Slavin, alleged the school's cross-country team dropped Starling from her varsity spot in favor of a trans athlete, and that school administrators compared their "Save Girls Sports" t-shirts to swastikas, Fox News Digital has previously reported.
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Starling even testified before the house legislature supporting a pair of bills that would have reversed California's girls' sports eligibility policy on April 1. Both bills failed to pass due to opposition from the Democrat Majority. But now, the lawsuit is being cited in a federal investigation.
Trump's Department of Justice has already shown itself willing to sue a state for allowing trans athletes to compete in girls' sports. Bondi announced a lawsuit against Maine on April 16 after weeks of warnings and tension, that included multiple federal funding pauses, which have been restored, and a public spat between Trump and Governor Janet Mills.
Starling's father, Ryan Starling, previously told Fox News Digital that he supported Trump's funding cuts to Maine, and would support similar sanctions against his state for allowing trans athletes in girls' sports.
"Good," Ryan Starling said in response to seeing the situation in Maine, knowing the same could soon play out in his state. "That's the only thing they answer to, is when their funding is cut and when it actually affects their pocketbooks, that's the only thing that will get it to change.
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The situation in Maine was prompted heavily by news of a trans athlete who won a girls' pole vault competition after previously competing in the boys' category.
Now, California faces a potential similar outcome in its state track and field championship.
The upcoming girls' state title meet will feature a trans athlete competing in girls' long jump and triple jump. The athlete, AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High School, has dominated the girls' postseason so far, taking first place in both events in the sectional final on May 17.
Trump's Department of Education previously sent a warning to California and Jurupa Valley High School via an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital on May 15.
The high school has defended letting Hernandez compete in the girls' category, as to follow current state law.
"JUSD continues to follow both California law and CIF policy regarding school athletics. Both state law and CIF policy currently require that students be permitted to participate in athletic teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records. JUSD remains committed to protecting the rights and safety of the students we serve, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws," the district said in a previous statement provided to Fox News Digital.
Trump himself got in on the debate when he sent a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, warning the state and Governor Gavin Newsom of potential funding cuts, and orders to local authorities to prevent a trans athlete from competing in the girls' category on Saturday.
Just hours later, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) announced it would make a slight rule change for this weekend's championship. The change allows biologically female athletes who fell just shy of qualifying for the championship behind a trans athlete a chance to compete for the title this weekend.
Newsom's office provided a statement to Fox News Digital supporting the CIF's decision.
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This change will result in at least two competitors qualifying to compete for the state title after falling just shy of the typical qualification threshold on Saturday.
"CIF's proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing. The Governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach," the statement read.
Newsom previously admitted he thought biological males competing in girls' sports was "deeply unfair," during an episode of his podcast in March.
Jurupa Unified School District (JUSD) where Jurupa Valley High School is based, was included in the DOJ's list of recipients of a letter informing of the incoming investigation, in the department's official announcement on Tuesday. However, the school district claims it has not received any letter of complaint, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The DOJ has confirmed to Fox News Digital that the JUSD is named in the letter.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the CIF, Bonta's office and Riverside Unified School District for a response.
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