Trump DOJ Sues Minnesota Over Transgender Girls’ Participation in Girls’ Sports and Sex‑Separated Facilities Under Title IX
The Department of Justice filed suit Monday in federal court in Minnesota seeking to bar transgender students from competing in girls’ sports and to compel sex-separated locker rooms and bathrooms without gender‑identity exceptions, alleging the state’s policies violate Title IX by forcing girls to compete against boys and allowing boys into intimate spaces. The lawsuit follows Education and HHS findings that Minnesota’s Education Department and State High School League violated civil‑rights laws, comes after Minnesota rejected a proposed federal resolution that would have required policy changes, apologies and rescission of records, and is part of a broader Trump‑administration push that has opened dozens of investigations and spawned a parallel suit against California; Minnesota had earlier filed a preemptive suit claiming its human‑rights law preempts the federal policy and a motion to dismiss is pending. The action drew praise from former Vikings captain Jack Brewer, who urged continued enforcement as a defense of Title IX protections for girls.
📌 Key Facts
- The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in Minnesota seeking remedies that would bar transgender students from girls’ sports and require sex‑separated girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms without gender‑identity exceptions; DOJ says Minnesota’s policies violate Title IX by “requiring girls to compete against boys” and “allowing boys to invade intimate spaces,” and ties roughly $3 billion a year in Education/HHS federal funding to compliance.
- The Education and HHS Departments concluded in September that Minnesota’s Education Department and the State High School League violated civil‑rights laws; the matter was assigned in June to a new Title IX Special Investigations Team after President Trump’s February 2025 executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
- Before the DOJ referral, Minnesota rejected a proposed federal resolution that would have required policy changes, formal apologies to female athletes who competed against transgender students, and the rescission of any high school records held by transgender athletes.
- Minnesota filed a preemptive lawsuit last year arguing its state Human Rights Act supersedes the federal executive orders and that it already complies with Title IX; a ruling is pending on the federal government’s motion to dismiss that state suit.
- As part of a broader federal push during the first 14 months of Trump’s second term, the Education Department has opened at least 40 civil‑rights investigations into schools with transgender athletes or protections for transgender students; DOJ has also filed a parallel lawsuit against the California Interscholastic Federation while California and the California State University system are suing over the federal policy.
- Former Minnesota Vikings captain and University of Minnesota player Jack Brewer reacted strongly in support of the federal suit, saying he is "sick" the state is being sued, praising President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging them to "continue fighting," and accusing Minnesota schools of "brainwashing" and "sexualizing" children.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2025, 3.3% of U.S. youth aged 13 to 17 identify as transgender, totaling approximately 724,000 individuals, compared to 0.8% of U.S. adults.
How Many Adults and Youth Identify as Transgender in the United States? — Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law
Transgender identification among U.S. college students declined from 6.8% in 2022-2023 to 3.6% in 2025, with social influences cited as a factor in the rise and decline of such identities among young people since 2010.
Report: Sharp decline in trans-identifying youth between 2023 and 2025 — The Center Square
Adult males are stronger, more powerful, and faster than females of similar age and training status, with sex differences in athletic performance primarily attributable to the effects of sex-steroid hormones and fundamental differences in anatomy and physiology dictated by sex chromosomes.
The Biological Basis of Sex Differences in Athletic Performance — American College of Sports Medicine
In Minnesota, significant racial disparities in educational attainment persist, with White Minnesotans having a 69.7% attainment rate, while the state ranks 49th nationally for educational equality due to large gaps between Black and White students.
Education for the Future 2025 — Minnesota Office of Higher Education
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
"The Fox News opinion argues that recent Supreme Court and appellate rulings vindicate parental rights and biologically sex‑based separations in schools, and that the Court is poised to roll back transgender accommodations (in sports, bathrooms and locker rooms) imposed by school bureaucracies."
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Adds reaction from former Minnesota Vikings captain and University of Minnesota player Jack Brewer, who says he is "sick" that his home state is being sued and blames Minnesota schools for "brainwashing" and "sexualizing" children.
- Brewer explicitly praises President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging them to "continue fighting" and framing the DOJ suit as defending the "original intent" of Title IX and protections for "young women and girls."
- Clarifies Minnesota’s posture: the state filed a preemptive lawsuit last year asserting its human rights act supersedes Trump’s executive orders, claiming existing compliance with Title IX; a ruling is pending on the federal government’s motion to dismiss that case.
- Restates DOJ’s formal position that Minnesota violates Title IX by "requiring girls to compete against boys" and "allowing boys to invade intimate spaces" such as multi-person girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms, and notes DOJ has tied roughly $3 billion a year in federal Ed/HHS funding to compliance.
- New York Times piece confirms the suit was filed Monday in Federal District Court in Minnesota and describes DOJ’s requested remedies: blocking transgender students from girls’ competitions and compelling sex-separated locker rooms and bathrooms without gender-identity exceptions.
- Details that Minnesota rejected a proposed federal resolution that would have required policy changes, formal apologies to female athletes who competed against transgender students, and rescission of any high school records held by transgender athletes before the case was referred to DOJ.
- Additional context that the Education and HHS Departments formally concluded in September that Minnesota’s Education Department and State High School League violated civil-rights laws, and that the case was assigned in June to a new Title IX Special Investigations Team after Trump’s February 2025 'Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports' executive order.
- Broader trend data: during the first 14 months of Trump’s second term, the Education Department has opened at least 40 civil-rights investigations into schools with transgender athletes or protections for transgender students, and DOJ has filed a parallel lawsuit against the California Interscholastic Federation while California and California State University are suing over the federal policy.