US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are greeted by California Governor Gavin Newson upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 24, 2025, to visit the region devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to strip “large scale federal funding” from California if the state goes against his executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
That funding could be withheld “permanently” if California continues to flout the Feb. 5 order, Trump warned on Truth Social.
The president’s post complained that a trans athlete who qualified to compete against women in an upcoming competition is “practically unbeatable.”
He wrote that he will order “local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals.”
Trump added that he will speak with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, later Tuesday “to find out which way he wants to go” on the issue.
Trump did not name the athlete whose participation in women’s sports drew his ire. AB Hernandez, a California high school student and transgender athlete competing in girls track and field, has recently received media attention.
Trump’s threat to shut off federal funding could be significant for California, the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Over one-third of the state’s budget comes from the federal government, according to the California Budget and Policy Center. The state’s 2025-2026 budget includes more than $170 billion in federal funds.
The threat also carries weight in light of Trump’s increasing willingness to cancel billions of dollars in federal funds to universities, cities and other entities whose whose conduct he opposes.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump moved to cancel all remaining federal government contracts with Harvard University — reportedly totaling roughly $100 million — in the administration’s latest salvo against the elite institution.
Trump has previously threatened to withhold federal funds from Maine over the state’s compliance with Trump’s executive order barring transgender women and girls from participating in female sports.
Newsom, widely seen as a contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, has been a vocal critic of a number of Trump policies, including on tariffs and immigration.
He downplayed the debate over trans athletes in April, saying the issue has been “weaponized by the right to be 10x, 100x bigger than it is.”
But he also suggested in March that trans athletes participating in girls’ and women’s sports was “deeply unfair,” separating himself from many of his fellow Democrats.
“I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that,” Newsom told conservative influencer Charlie Kirk on his podcast.
Newsom’s office did not immediately provide a comment in response to Trump’s post.
