Attorney General Ellison sues Trump Administration for conditioning funding on discrimination

Joins coalition of 12 AGs in suing HHS over attempt to unlawfully condition billions in federal funding on compliance with discriminatory definitions of sex and gender; asks court to declare HHS policy unlawful and block its enforcement

Discrimination against transgender people is illegal under 1993 Minnesota Human Rights Act

January 16, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Ellison announced today that he joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for unlawfully conditioning hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding on states’ agreement to discriminate against transgender people. Under a new HHS policy, recipients of federal health, education, and research funding must certify compliance with a presidential executive order that seeks to deny the existence of transgender people and impose rigid, unscientific definitions of sex. 

Attorney General Ellison and the coalition argue that HHS has no authority to impose these conditions and is illegally using federal funding to coerce states into discriminating against their residents, in violation of state laws protecting transgender people from discrimination. They are asking the court to step in and strike down the unlawful funding conditions.

“This is another brazen attack on the transgender community by the Trump administration,” said Attorney General Ellison. “This HHS policy seeks to strong-arm Minnesota’s educational and healthcare institutions into accepting the administration’s unscientific, outdated, and outright discriminatory positions on gender, despite all the known and predictable harm that would cause to transgender Minnesotans and their families. It is yet another move designed to further the administration’s clear goal of pushing our transgender neighbors out of public life. Minnesota will not stand for it.”

HHS’s sweeping policy requires states, public universities, health agencies, hospitals, and other recipients of federal funds to certify compliance with Title IX protections, which it characterizes as “including the requirements” of the president’s executive order redefining sex in a way that excludes transgender people. HHS has made this certification a condition of funding across the agency and has warned that recipients could face termination of grants, repayment of funds, and even civil or criminal liability if they are found to be out of compliance. The policy applies not only to new grants, but also to existing funding, placing ongoing programs at immediate risk. At the same time, HHS has failed to clearly explain what compliance requires.

Attorney General Ellison and the coalition argue that HHS lacks the authority to impose these conditions, which would have far-reaching consequences across healthcare and social services, and is unlawfully attempting to rewrite Title IX through executive action and agency policy. They further allege that the policy violates the U.S. Constitution by overriding Congress’ power of the purse, breaks federal law by attaching vague and retroactive conditions to funding, and violates the Administrative Procedure Act by imposing a major policy change without notice or explanation. The policy also contradicts decades of court opinions and settled federal guidance recognizing that Title IX protects people from discrimination based on gender identity.

The Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) became law in 1993, making Minnesota the first state to protect transgender individuals from discrimination. The MHRA includes gender identity as a protected status and defines “gender identity” to mean “a person’s inherent sense of being a man, woman, both, or neither” and explains that a person’s “gender identity may or may not correspond to their assigned sex at birth.” Over the last three decades, Minnesota courts have consistently understood the plain language of the MHRA to protect Minnesotans from differential treatment based on their transgender status, gender identity, and gender expression.

Attorney General Ellison and the coalition are asking the court to declare the policy unlawful and block HHS from enforcing it, thereby allowing states to continue providing health care, education, and other essential services without being forced to discriminate.

Joining Attorney General Ellison in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Trump’s Attacks on Transgender People and Minnesota’s Responses

From his very first day in office, President Trump has made clear his animus toward transgender people, referring to them as ‘sick,’ or labeling those who do not conform to binary gender categories as members of a ‘transgender cult.’ His official actions have been consistent with his discriminatory rhetoric, and AG Ellison has consistently fought to uphold the rights of transgender Minnesotans: