Education Secretary Linda McMahon is seeking clarity on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) stance regarding transgender athletes competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams. This comes after Newsom, a progressive leader and potential 2028 presidential candidate, surprised many by calling their participation “deeply unfair.”
Newsom made the remarks earlier this month on the debut episode of his podcast, This is Gavin Newsom, during a conversation with conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, co-founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, an organization that promotes conservative politics in high schools and colleges.
LGBTQ rights groups at the national and state levels condemned Newsom’s comments, while some California Democrats accused him of aligning with conservative viewpoints. “The Governor has had many courageous moments over the decades supporting LGBTQ people,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D). “This is not one of those moments.”
In a letter sent Thursday, McMahon told Newsom that “an overwhelming majority of Americans agree with you” that allowing transgender athletes to compete on female sports teams is “unfair and wrong.”
“Many are confused, however, by your office’s silence on the harms of substituting ‘gender identity’ for sex in other areas of the school environment,” she wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill.
McMahon urged Newsom to direct schools to reinstate sex-based categories in all education programs and activities. “Parents would appreciate your leadership,” she stated. “School personnel have no business promoting the false notion that kids can choose or change their sex. If a child does exhibit this behavior, the school has a duty to notify parents.”
She also called on Newsom to repeal a California law he signed last year that prevents teachers from being required to disclose a student’s transgender status to their parents. McMahon criticized the law as “morally wrong” and claimed it violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which grants parents access to their children’s education records.
McMahon further warned that allowing transgender students to use single-sex facilities and compete on sports teams aligning with their gender identity violates Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination. “As Governor, you have a duty to inform California school districts of this risk,” she wrote.
Over the past month, the Education and Health and Human Services Departments have launched multiple investigations into states, school districts, and athletic associations that have refused to comply with President Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. Officials in states like Maine and Minnesota argue that such a ban would violate state antidiscrimination laws, which include protections based on gender identity.
Attorney General Pam Bondi previously warned the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which oversees high school sports in the state, to comply with the order and the administration’s interpretation of Title IX or risk legal action from the Justice Department.
A spokesperson for Newsom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McMahon’s letter arrives as other Republicans push Newsom to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. At least two bills in California’s Democrat-led Legislature aim to enforce such a ban, though Newsom’s office has not indicated whether he would sign them.
In a separate letter on Thursday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) urged Newsom to implement a ban ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
When signing the executive order in February, Trump declared that transgender athletes would not be allowed to compete in the next Summer Games, though the International Olympic Committee ultimately determines eligibility requirements.
Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry, the newly elected president of the IOC, told reporters last week that a new task force will examine “the transgender issue” and work on “the protection of the female category.”
