Attorney General Pam Bondi has warned the states of Maine, Minnesota, and California to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order barring biological males from women’s sports. The three Democrat-led states have vowed to defy the order and allow such athletes to continue competing in women’s divisions.
"This Department of Justice will defend women and does not tolerate state officials who ignore federal law. Indeed, we have already begun to do so," Bondi said in a letter to officials in the three states obtained by Fox News. "We will leverage every legal option necessary to ensure state compliance with federal law and President Trump’s Executive Order protecting women’s sports."
"We also stand ready to sue states and state entities that defy federal antidiscrimination laws," she wrote.
She wrote that Trump’s executive order regarding women’s sports states that allowing biological males to compete against females is "demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls." She added, per the Daily Wire, "The practice is also illegal under federal law: it denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports, in violation of Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972."
In regards to Minnesota, Bondi said that Attorney General Keith Ellison "issued a legal opinion asserting that the Minnesota State High School League would be violating state law unless it continues this demeaning, unfair, and dangerous practice." California, she wrote, "should be on notice" as an investigation is ongoing into the California Interscholastic Federation.
"If the Department of Education’s investigation shows that the Federation is indeed denying girls an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them to compete against boys, the Department of Justice stands ready to take all appropriate action to enforce federal law."
Bondi wrote that "Maine should be on notice" as the Department of Education investigates Title IX violations by the Maine Department of Education.
"If these or other federal investigations show that the relevant Maine entities are indeed denying girls an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them to compete against boys, the Department of Justice stands ready to take all appropriate action to enforce federal law."
"I hope that it does not come to this," Bondi wrote. "The Department of Justice does not want to have to sue states or state entities, or seek termination of their federal funds."
This comes after Trump and Maine Governor Janet Mills argued at a White House governors meeting last week, in which Mills told Trump, "See you in court."
"Good, I’ll see you in court," Trump said, adding, "I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one. And enjoy your life after, Governor, cause I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics."