In an early morning post on Truth Social Thursday, Donald Trump declared that California schools that defy his anti-trans directives will lose federal funding.

“Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our Transgender policies, will not be funded. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he stated with no further explanation.

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The Trump administration has sued California over the state’s refusal to ban transgender girls and women from participating in school sports. The state of California has had a law allowing trans kids to participate in school sports as their gender since 2013 and has refused to violate it despite the administration’s stance against trans sports participation.

This past February, Trump signed an executive order to block federal funding for schools that allow trans girls and women to participate in school sports as their authentic selves, and the order told the DOJ to prosecute schools that allow trans students to play sports. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation into the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which handles school sports in the state, for sex-based discrimination under Title IX.

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The current administration is arguing that allowing trans girls to play school sports takes away “critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition” from cis girls, who are also “denied awards” if trans girls win, the lawsuit states.

In May, Trump raged at California after Fox News covered the story of a trans student who competed in the long jump.

“Please be hereby advised that large-scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to,” Trump posted at the time on Truth Social. Executive orders only direct the actions of the federal executive branch and don’t create new laws. Congress has not passed a law banning trans student-athletes at the federal level, and states have different laws governing trans participation in school sports.

Over the past week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has also been trolling Trump on social media, which may have motivated the highly sensitive president’s message Thursday morning.

On X, the account “Governor Newsom Press Office,” which is associated with Newsom’s office, has been posting messages in Trump’s style as a way to mock the president. For example, the account has been posting messages in all-caps with boastful messages that make little sense.

Trump’s threat comes as his administration has frozen federal funding to five Virginia school districts that have refused to revoke their policies that allow trans kids to use facilities matching their gender identity. The school districts — Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William — say that their policies are required by Title IX.

A letter published last Friday by the pro-LGBTQ+ regional coalition Equality Arlington praised the schools for standing by their pro-trans policies.

“The U.S. Department of Education’s demands are an illegal attempt to violate the human and civil rights of vulnerable transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive students, and we know that more discriminatory demands will follow… [from] a federal government intent on discriminating against many marginalized groups,” the letter states. “Thank you for recognizing the critical importance of making sure our schools are safe and supportive environments for all students.”

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