Trump threatens to slash federal funding from California over youth transgender sports participation

President Donald Trump threatened to strip federal funding from California and bashed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for allegedly violating his administration's executive order on transgender athlete participation in school sports.

Trump’s remarks are seemingly targeted at a transgender high school athlete from Southern California, who won two regional titles in the girls triple and long jump earlier this month.

“THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social on Tuesday. “Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to.”

Trump also demanded that local officials prohibit the student from competing in upcoming competitions, saying he was “ordering local authorities” to not allow the student to participate in the state finals.

The president called out Newsom — once viewed as a pioneer for LGBTQ+ rights — by name, referencing the governor’s suggestion earlier this year that Democrats were in the wrong to allow transgender athletes to participate in female college and youth sports, saying it was an “issue of fairness.”

“The Governor, himself, said it is ‘UNFAIR.’ I will speak to him today to find out which way he wants to go???” Trump wrote.

It was not immediately clear what funding the president was threatening. Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump signed an executive order barring transgender student-athletes from competing in women’s sports in February. The order quickly sparked conflict between the White House and Democratic state leaders, most notably Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who had refused to say whether she’d comply with the order.

The Trump administration has since launched multiple probes into the state’s education system, such as beginning the process to eliminate Maine’s federal K-12 funding. Mills’ administration had sued over cuts to funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and won a victory there, but the Department of Justice has also sued the state.

Specific institutions have also been targets. Trump slashed $175 million in federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania over transgender athlete policies in March.

A recent poll found that 65 percent of California's likely voters think transgender athletes should be required to play on sports teams matching their sex assigned at birth, instead of their gender identity.