Justice Department suggests Minnesota in sights after Maine lawsuit

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday suggested the Justice Department is considering legal action against Minnesota for allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ and women’s sports.

The Trump administration on Wednesday sued Maine over policies that allow some trans athletes to compete in women’s sports. Bondi said Maine is violating federal law intended to prevent discrimination based on sex.

The administration is asking the court to bar Maine trans athletes from participating in women’s sports and asking the court to “have the titles returned to the young women who rightfully won these sports,” Bondi said.

“We’re looking at Minnesota. We’re looking at California. We’re looking at many, many states but they are the top two that should be on notice because we’ve been communicating with them,” Bondi said during a news conference.

In February, Trump signed an executive order barring trans athletes from playing girls and women’s sports. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a formal legal opinion that states barring trans athlete participation would violate the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which supersedes Trump’s executive order.

Bondi in February warned Ellison that the Justice Department is prepared to sue the state over its trans athlete policy.

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating the Minnesota State High School League for publicly announcing it would not comply with Trump’s executive order because it’s subject to state anti-discrimination laws, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

The Trump administration has threatened to cut off funding for Maine’s public schools and school lunch programs, and the Justice Department clawed back $1.5 million in grants from Maine’s Corrections Department for allowing a trans prisoner in a women’s prison.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills defiantly told Trump in a heated exchange back in February that she would “see you in court” after he threatened to pull funding.

Minnesota House Republicans last month attempted to pass a law barring trans athletes from girls sports, but all 67 House Democrats voted against it and the bill didn’t meet the 68 vote threshold needed to pass.