On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated a lawsuit against Minnesota regarding its policy that permits transgender women to participate in women’s sports and spaces.
The lawsuit targets the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the St. Paul high school league, claiming that the state is engaging in sex discrimination. This, they argue, violates Title IX by allowing men, based on their gender identity rather than biological characteristics, to join women’s sports teams and access facilities meant for women.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi expressed in a statement, “The Trump administration will not tolerate flawed national policies that ignore biological reality and disproportionately harm girls in the playing field. The Department of Justice is proud to partner with HHS and the Department of Education to protect girls in Minnesota and across the country.”
In September 2025, the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services concluded that MDE and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) had violated Title IX by allowing men to participate in various sports programs and to access intimate facilities reserved for women, like restrooms and locker rooms. While a settlement was proposed by the Trump administration, it was rejected by Minnesota, according to the Department of Education.
The administration pointed to specific instances, noting a transgender man who joined the Champlin Park High School girls’ varsity fastpitch softball team in 2023, as well as various men who participated in women’s alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, lacrosse, track and field, and volleyball teams over recent years.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon remarked, “The Department of Justice cannot ignore the state’s brazen defiance of federal anti-discrimination laws. Minnesota’s actions in the service of radical gender ideology violate Title IX and deny women athletes their hard-earned trophies, records, dignity, and safety.”
Title IX prohibits sex discrimination as a condition for receiving federal funding for educational programs and activities. The DOJ pointed out that Minnesota receives around $3 billion annually from the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
“Given that Minnesota gets over $3 billion in federal funding every year, Title IX mandates that Minnesota offers equal opportunities to all students. Yet, Minnesota seems to prioritize gender ideology over biological reality, allowing male students to claim championships, break records, and encroach on spaces that should belong to female athletes,” the statement continued.
The Department of Justice is seeking district courts’ authorization to enforce Title IX as it was intended, to safeguard women’s sports and spaces.
The case is titled United States v. Minnesota Department of Education, No. 26-cv-2078, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
