The Trump administration is considering withholding federal education funding to California schools over the state’s policies on transgender athletes, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Tuesday, contending California’s policy of allowing athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity violates federal law.
“I think that is part of what we found with the state of California just blatantly refusing to be in compliance with Title IX regulations,” McMahon said at an event hosted by Bloomberg News. “So that is one of the tools and the other options that we have with California and I think it’s right that we make them aware that that is a risk that they run.”
The threat comes as the feud between Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump escalates over the president’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles to stop immigration-related protests.
Politico first reported the Trump administration was considering stopping the disbursement of “formula funds” — education funds distributed to schools based on a predetermined formula created by Congress — to California’s schools. Those funds are used for a variety of programs and purposes, including support of low-income students and students with disabilities, assistance to rural schools and financial relief due to emergencies or natural disasters.
California received about $8 billion in federal funding for K-12 education and about $7 billion in federal funding for higher education in 2024. The state received $1.5 billion in special education funding from the federal government for the 2024-25 school year and more than $2.5 billion in Title 1 funds, which support socioeconomically disadvantaged students, $77 million for career and technical education programs and nearly $6 million for nutrition services for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
“The Trump administration’s favorite pastime is threatening to illegally pull funding from states that don’t conform to the President’s political ideology,” the California Department of Education said in a statement Wednesday. “California and other states have fought these actions in court and the administration has been repeatedly blocked. We will continue to fight to make sure that our tax dollars go where they are intended — to fund education programs that our children deserve.”
The nonprofit California Budget and Policy Center estimated California residents and businesses contribute $83 billion more than the state receives in federal support. California paid nearly $700 billion in federal taxes for the 2022 fiscal year, Newsom’s office said.
Tony Thurmond, the state superintendent of public instruction, has said the Trump administration cannot pull California’s federal education funding without Congressional approval.
It is not the first time the Trump administration has threatened to pull federal funding from the state over its policies related to transgender students. In March, the administration initiated an investigation into the state’s education department over a controversial gender notification law the state passed last summer, asserting that it encouraged schools to conceal information from parents about their children’s sexuality and warning that California could lose billions of dollars in federal funding. The administration also announced a federal Title IX review of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the state’s governing body for high school athletics, over California’s policies on transgender athletes.
In May, Trump himself threatened “large-scale” funding cuts to the state if a Southern California transgender high school athlete who qualified for the state track and field championship was allowed to compete.
The CIF allowed the athlete, AB Hernandez, to compete, but amended its policy so that girls who would have qualified if not for Hernandez were also allowed to compete and share the podium with Hernandez. It is unclear whether the Trump administration has engaged with CIF about its rule changes for the state track final. A CIF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Additionally, San Jose State University faced national scrutiny after the co-captain of the San Jose State women’s volleyball team joined a lawsuit in September accusing the NCAA of discriminating against women by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports. The school is currently under a federal investigation over a potential civil rights violation for allowing a transgender athlete to compete on a women’s team.
California schools also received a letter last week from the U.S. Department of Justice warning schools they are “exposed to legal liability” if they comply with CIF’s policy allowing all students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity, according to the California Department of Education. The letter warned schools to certify to the Justice Department by Monday, June 9, that they will not implement the CIF policy, the state’s department of education said.
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Superintendent Thurmond said the state Education Department would respond to the DOJ letter on behalf of all California schools.
In a statement last week, he said the state will continue to follow California law, which protects all students’ access to participate in a sports consistent with their gender identity.
“Let’s be clear: sending a letter does not change the law. The DOJ’s letter to school districts does not announce any new federal law, and state law on this issue has remained unchanged since 2013,” Thurmond said.
Michael Nowels contributed reporting for this story.
