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The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against Minnesota on Monday, as the state continues to oppose the president’s executive order aimed at preventing men from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that the state Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) violated Title IX policies.
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Groups of protesters stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court as justices hear the landmark case to decide whether transgender girls should be allowed to participate in girls’ and women’s sports, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. Credit: Andrew Thomas / CNP (Andrew Thomas/CNP for PK Press Club Digital)
“The Trump Administration will not tolerate flawed state policies that ignore biological reality and unfairly harm girls on the playing field,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Minnesota has resisted changing its policies regarding transgender athletes. The state filed a preemptive lawsuit last year, saying the state’s human rights law supersedes President Donald Trump’s executive orders. The lawsuit said at the time that the state was already in compliance with Title IX. A ruling is expected on the federal government’s motion to dismiss the case.
The federal government said in a statement Monday that the state is violating Title IX “by forcing girls to compete against boys in all-girls athletic competitions and allowing boys to invade intimate, all-girls spaces, such as locker rooms and multi-person restrooms.”
A protester holds a sign in front of the Supreme Court during debates over state laws banning transgender girls and women from playing on school sports teams, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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The Justice Department has said MDE’s funding, which amounts to $3 billion a year from the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, is contingent on its compliance with Title IX.
The lawsuit asked Minnesota’s federal court to find that the state was violating Title IX.
PK Press Club Digital has reached out to MSHSL, MDE and Governor Tim Walz’s office for comment.
In October, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison defended the presence of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is seen as the state facing a lawsuit from Trump’s DOJ. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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“Letting a very small number of Minnesota’s transgender students play on their school sports teams doesn’t hurt anyone, but separating them does,” Ellison said in a statement.
