California, Trump and the battle over transgender athletes
- Share via
The intense scrutiny of teenage transgender athletes in California intensified this week as the U.S. Justice Department announced it was investigating the state for allowing them to participate in girls’ sports and President Trump threatened to cut federal funding over the issue.
My colleagues Kevin Rector, Brittny Mejia and Howard Blume reported that the Justice Department is investigating whether California, its interscholastic sports federation, and the Jurupa Unified School District are violating the rights of cisgender high school girls by allowing trans athletes to compete alongside them.
The department also threw its support behind a pending lawsuit alleging similar violations of girls’ rights in the Riverside Unified School District, said U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, who oversees much of the Los Angeles region, and Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The announcements came one day after Trump threatened to cut federal funding to the state if it continued to allow trans athletes to compete in women’s sports.
In a Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump blasted Gov. Gavin Newsom — whom he called “Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum” — saying that under his leadership, the state “continues to ILLEGALLY allow ‘MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.’”
The president referenced “a transitioned Male athlete” who “won ‘everything,’ and is now qualified to compete in the ‘State Finals’ next weekend.”
My colleagues Blume, Hannah Fry, Steve Henson and Taryn Luna reported that Trump appeared to be referencing a transgender Jurupa Valley High School junior who won the girls’ long jump and triple jump during the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet last week.
Trump said he would be “ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!”
The California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees sports at more than 1,500 high schools, announced that it would expand the number of athletes eligible to compete in the upcoming state championship.
Under the new rules announced Tuesday, cisgender female athletes who fell one sport short of qualifying for the state track meet will be allowed to compete in the championship. Transgender athletes are not disqualified from participating.
The state track meet begins Friday in Clovis. The city’s mayor pro tem, Diane Pearce, wrote on Facebook that the new rules showed that CIF officials “know they’re in the wrong” and that “we must keep up the pressure!” Earlier this week, Pearce criticized the competition of “a biological male” in the event.
Newsom praised the CIF rules.
“CIF’s proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing,” said Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, in a statement. “The governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach.”
The Democratic governor— an outspoken champion of LGBTQ+ rights since he was mayor of San Francisco — called trans athletes’ participation in women’s sports “deeply unfair” during a podcast interview in March, splitting from many in his party on an issue that Republicans capitalized on during the presidential election.
Trump has repeatedly targeted transgender rights during his first four months back in the White House.
The president issued an executive order barring the federal government from recognizing genders other than male or female. And he has pushed to ban transgender Americans from the U.S. military, writing in an executive order that transgender identity is a “falsehood” inconsistent with the “humility and selflessness required of a service member.” The Supreme Court this month cleared the way for that ban to take effect.
In February, Trump signed an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which gave federal agencies the ability to penalize schools for allowing transgender athletes to compete — something the Trump administration says violates Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sexual discrimination.
You're reading the Essential California newsletter
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Today’s top stories
Did insurers collude to force homeowners onto the state insurance plan?
- Two Los Angeles County Superior Court lawsuits accuse dozens of California home insurers of dropping policyholders and forcing them onto the FAIR Plan — the state’s insurer of last resort — where polices cover less and cost more.
- The Times spoke to both sides, as well as multiple experts to better understand the high-stakes litigation, which faces obstacles but could shake up California’s home insurance industry.
Santa Monica residents go to war against Waymo
- There’s a battle brewing in Santa Monica with a fleet of unmanned, electric Waymo vehicles on one side, and exhausted, weary locals on the other.
- Using cones, cars and sometimes themselves, residents have taken to blocking the Waymos from entering their company-funded parking lot, so much so that the company has called the cops on them a half dozen times.
A warming planet is poised to get even hotter
- The hottest year in nearly two centuries was recorded only last year. But a United Nations report predicts the world will probably shatter that record yet again by 2029.
- That means we can expect many more days when the weather feels freakish and far more natural disasters that cost people their homes, health or lives.
- For California and the western U.S., that means higher chances of drought, heat waves and longer fire seasons with more intense wildfires.
What else is going on
- A new COVID subvariant spreads rapidly as Trump pivots away from vaccines.
- A ‘Dangerous’ heat wave is expected to break records across California this weekend.
- Democrats urge DHS to reinstate the legal status of a Bakersfield 4-year-old facing deportation and death.
- A California dad opens fire as high school boys flee after egging his home, prosecutors say.
- The century-old Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery has closed indefinitely due to “vermin infestation.”
- FBI says it will release video that officials say proves Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide.
- Kool & the Gang’s Michael Sumler has died in a car crash at 71.
Commentary and opinions
- Stock market investors don’t have much to cheer about in the second Trump term, except perhaps for a new and almost flawless trading strategy — the ‘TACO’ trade, writes columnist Michael Hiltzik.
- What do the Dodgers and Giants have in common? An iconic ad — for Big Oil, columnist Sammy Roth writes.
This morning’s must reads
Christopher Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee journeyed from the Palos Verdes Peninsula suburbs to become Soviet spies, a story emblematic of 1970s California.
Other must reads
- Gone, but not forgotten: Times food writers reflect on some of L.A.’s bygone restaurants.
- The iconic California avocado is in trouble, and this farmer is fighting to save it.
For your downtime
Going out
- Restaurants: Dine with history at L.A.’s landmark restaurants, founded in 1935 or earlier.
- Pools: Waterslides! Lazy rivers! 8 Palm Springs-area pools you can cool off in for the day.
Staying in
- Books: A poignant Desi Arnaz bio spotlights drive and showbiz innovations of Lucy’s comic foil.
- Recipes: Here’s a recipe for spaghetti and meatballs.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, Sudoku, word search and arcade games.
A question for you: What is your favorite California city to visit?
Karen says, “Murphys in Calaveras County.”
Pasqual says, “Mendocino.”
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... your photo of the day
Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Christina House on the set of “Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney” with actor Richard Kind.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
John Orr was a renowned fire investigator who was also a prolific arsonist, and whose thinly veiled novel helped to convict him. In this episode we hear from the fire captain who first suspected him—and from Orr himself.
Tom Girardi was a legal legend—until he was found guilty of stealing millions from his own clients. Host Madison McGhee and pop culture commentator Kiki Monique unpack how his downfall became a Real Housewives scandal, and what Erika Jayne may or may not have known. Plus, L.A. Times reporter Harriet Ryan joins to share how she helped bring Girardi’s crimes to light.
Sammy Roth visits America’s second-largest nuclear plant, Arizona’s Palo Verde Generating Station, and sits down with three experts to explore the pros and cons of atomic energy.
