A new lawsuit filed Tuesday by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison alleges the Trump Administration is bullying vulnerable children in Minnesota.
“Minnesota brings this lawsuit to stop President Trump and his administration from bullying vulnerable children in this state," Ellison says, adding that two of Trump's executive orders targeting transgender children and adults violate the U.S. Constitution as well as Title IX.
The lawsuit comes as Ellison says the Trump administration threatens to withhold federal funding for Minnesota schools unless the state complies with two executive orders banning transgender children from playing girl's school sports, and denying the civil rights of transgender people.
"Trump’s unconscionable attack on this small number of vulnerable children is bullying, plain and simple," Ellison says. "His burning desire to destroy trans kids and punish us for helping them live and thrive isn't just a violation of the law — it’s a violation of Minnesota values. I’ve been around my share of bullies in my life, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you don’t give bullies an inch. We’re not going to cave at the expense of trans kids — or any vulnerable community that needs our compassion and protection."
Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth (Cold Spring) has already been critical of Ellison's lawsuit in a social media post.
"Disappointing that AG Ellison would rather risk federal funding and file yet another taxpayer funded lawsuit against the Trump administration than simply do the right thing and keep boys out of girls sports," Demuth says.
The Department of Justice has recently sued the State of Maine’s education department for not complying with the government's push to ban transgender athletes in girls sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex.
During that announcement, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi noted two other states - Minnesota and California - were being "put on notice" for a similar suit.
Ellison said that on February 25, their office received a letter from the Department of Justice, stating that they would sue Minnesota if they didn’t comply with the president's executive order. Another letter was sent on April 8, and then the April 16 press conference where Bondi and the DOJ threatened to withhold funds from Minnesota and “seek judicial resolution.”
"I’m not waiting for Trump to sue Minnesota," Ellison said at a press conference Tuesday. "Today, Minnesota is suing him and his administration because we will not participate in this shameful bullying. We will not participate for two reasons. One, they are wrong about the law, both federal and state, and two, we will not let a small group of vulnerable children who are only trying to be healthy and live their lives be demonized."
In the lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison lays out four causes of action against two Trump executive orders — the “Gender Ideology Order” and the “Sports Ban Order” — and U.S. Department of Justice letters to Minnesota.
Ellison says that he will continue to fight decisions from the administration that have not been approved by congress.
"These are the moments when you have to say 'no' — especially if the community the leader wants to destroy is children just trying to live their lives," Ellison adds. "We’re in that moment right now in America. I have the power to say 'no.' Today, I’m using it."
The claims are:
1- The executive orders and DOJ letters violate the separation of powers in the U.S. Constitution by exceeding the President’s powers and usurping Congress’s exclusive powers to legislate, noting among other points that “the Constitution does not authorize the Executive Branch to override Congress based on the President’s policy preferences.”
2- The President and the Administration not only have no authority under Title IX to rescind federal funding from Minnesota schools because Minnesota law allows transgender women and girls to participate on sports teams that align with their gender identity, but they violate Title IX by doing so.
3- The Trump Administration’s attempt to force Attorney General Ellison to revise or rescind his February 2025 binding legal opinion, which states that the President’s “Sports Ban Order” does not have the force of law or supersede state-based legal protections for transgender children, violates the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the federal government from commandeering the States to carry out federal law or policy.
4- The DOJ letters violate the Administrative Procedure Act, because they are in conflict with Title IX and rely on unauthorized executive orders, and because they are arbitrary and capricious.