Trump Administration Sues to Void Minnesota Trans Sports Policy

Minnesota’s policies allowing transgender female students to play on sports teams and use school facilities that align with their gender identity violate Title IX, the US Department of Justice said in a Monday lawsuit seeking to bar those policies.

Minnesota, through its Department of Education and high school sports governing body, are openly violating “the very core of Title IX” by creating unfair competition and denying girls equal opportunities, the federal government asserted in a complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Despite “multiple warnings from federal officials,” the state continues to intentionally refuse to comply with Title IX, the DOJ alleged.

Minnesota preemptively sued the Trump administration last year after the DOJ allegedly threatened to withhold federal funding from the state over its transgender policies in schools. The state asserted in its lawsuit that the Minnesota Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of a student’s gender identity and doesn’t conflict with Title IX because the federal statute doesn’t require schools to discriminate against students on the basis of gender identity. The administration’s motion to dismiss the suit is pending.

But the DOJ asserts the state’s viewpoint is wrong, and that gender identity is “a choice that elevates ideology over biology, fairness, and safety.”

Biological males have “undeniable physiological differences” that provide them advantages in strength, speed, and other athletic qualities, the DOJ claims. Minnesota’s policies allowing transgender females to use girls’ lock rooms and bathrooms also allegedly endanger “girls’ privacy, dignity, and safety,” which creates a hostile environment for girls, the complaint says.

Beyond two anonymous transgender female student athletes cited in the complaint, the DOJ claims “other boys have competed in, and will continue to compete in, athletic sports and competitions designated for girls.” That has and will continue to displace female athletes and harm their educational and athletic opportunities due to Minnesota’s discriminatory policies, the DOJ says.

The Minnesota Department of Education and high school sports league didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case is United States v. Minn. Dep’t of Educ., D. Minn., No. 0:26-cv-02078, complaint filed 3/30/26.