California Democrats want state to hold the line on transgender rights: ‘We can’t bend the knee’

Transgender attendee athlete AB Hernandez center flashes a sign as she shares the first-place spot on the podium with Jillene Wetteland left and Lelani Laruelle during a medal ceremony for the high jump at the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis on May At right is third-place finisher Julia Teven Photo by Jae C Hong Associated Press California lawmakers disclosed the state should stand up to President Donald Trump after his threat to impose large-scale fines on the state over transgender pupil athletes We can t bend the knee Rep Ro Khanna described NOTUS You have to take it to court if we need to and make sure that we don t get intimidated I think this is part of a administration overreach Trump attacks any state university or institution he dislikes A transgender high school participant won two events over the weekend at a statewide track and field event sharing the first-place wins with cisgender competitors The Trump administration announced Monday that by allowing trans pupil athletes to participate in sporting pursuits the California Interscholastic Federation was allowing discrimination against cisgender athletes The Department of Justice accused the federation a statewide institution that organizes sporting competitions between school districts of potentially violating the equal protection clause and the president threatened fines A Biological Male competed in California Girls State Finals WINNING BIG despite the fact that they were warned by me not to do so As Governor Gavin Newscum fully understands large scale fines will be imposed Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social California lawmakers commented that Trump s attacks are part of a retribution campaign for a state he sees as unfriendly to him politically They reported they stand for LGBTQ youth in the state I think California should perpetually be a state that supports all people we have a long history of supporting the LGBTQ public Rep Robert Garcia described NOTUS I don t think that attacking trans youth is the way to go and I think we should stick to supporting everyone in the state Other Democrats declared Trump necessities to stop focusing on California policies He s wading into state issues and he has larger issues that he himself created and that are tanking the market system Rep Sydney Kamlager-Dove mentioned He necessities to get over it or run for governor Rep Jimmy Gomez called the whole matter nonsense People in California didn t care and it s just this guy trying to make this into an issue Gomez noted We will stand for the people who live in our state California Democrats are in a tough spot when it comes to dealing with Trump s White House A multitude of in the delegation believe they need to be the tip of the spear when it comes to leading an opposition to Trump s policies But the state demands federal funds including accident aid to help the long-term recovery of Southern California after unprecedented wildfires earlier this year California freshman Rep Sam Liccardo reported there might not be numerous alternatives left when it comes to negotiating with Trump I m not sure there s much of a relationship to maintain here Liccardo noted The days of thinking that there was going to be a relationship to maintain are in the past On Tuesday Gov Gavin Newsom backed the California Interscholastic Federation s up-to-date rule that allows transgender female athletes to compete in events but adds a spot for another cisgender female athlete as well This is a pivot from when earlier this year Newsom attracted backlash from the California congressional delegation after saying he absolutely agreed with right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk on the issue of trans athletes This is all a pretext on Trump s part to attack our state Sen Adam Schiff narrated NOTUS This just seems to be a deliberate anti-California campaign This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS a publication from the nonprofit nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute and NEWSWELL home of Times of San Diego Santa Barbara News-Press and Stocktonia