Washington Attorney General Nick Brown has filed his 50th lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing the Department of Health and Human Services of unlawfully attaching conditions to federal funding in a way that discriminates against transgender people.
Brown on Wednesday joined 11 other Democratic attorneys general in the suit, which challenges an HHS policy they say forces states to comply with a presidential executive order that sets strict definitions of sex and rejects gender identity protections for transgender individuals.
"The administration does not care who gets hurt or what laws are violated in their obsessive targeting of trans people," Brown said.
"We refuse to back down to these illegal demands and will fight for every dollar Congress has authorized."
At issue is a funding certification requirement that, according to the lawsuit, affects federal health, education, and research dollars.
The policy requires recipients to certify compliance with Title IX protections as redefined by the executive order, the attorneys general said.
The states argue that HHS does not have the authority to impose the conditions and is using federal money to pressure states into taking actions that conflict with their own anti-discrimination laws.
The lawsuit also claims the policy violates the U.S. Constitution by encroaching on Congress' spending authority and violates federal law by imposing conditions the states describe as vague, retroactive, and coercive.
Brown, who took office on Jan. 15, 2025, has frequently sued the Trump administration over what he describes as unlawful federal actions.
His office says those cases have protected more than $15 billion for Washington and preserved funding for services including education, homelessness programs, and environmental protection.
The multistate coalition, which includes attorneys general from states such as New York, California, and Illinois, is asking a federal court to declare the HHS policy unlawful and block its enforcement.
The states also point to conflicts with laws such as the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which bars discrimination against transgender people in areas including health services and public education.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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