Drummond leads multi-state support for Trump’s funding cuts over transgender bathroom policies
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 22, 2026) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond is leading a multi-state coalition of attorneys general in support of President Trump’s decision to withhold federal funding for New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) over district policies that allow biological males to access female bathrooms and locker rooms.
In an amicus brief filed today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Drummond and 17 other state attorneys general asked the court to deny the New York City Board of Education’s motion for summary judgment and to grant the Trump Administration’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit over the funding cuts.
Drummond said Oklahoma and other states in the coalition have long maintained and are considering enacting additional laws and policies that recognize the fundamental biological differences between males and females, including commonsense laws that separate intimate facilities and athletic opportunities.
“We must protect the privacy and safety of female students in intimate spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms,” Drummond said. “We also must uphold the traditional and correct interpretation of Title IX. Policies such as those in New York City Public Schools conflict with federal law and should not be allowed to stand.”
The attorneys general note in the brief that under New York City Public Schools policies, any student who declares a gender identity different from their biological sex can access intimate facilities designated for the opposite sex.
“The guidelines impose no verification requirements: no medical diagnosis, no parental consent, no demonstrated consistency,” Drummond and the coalition wrote in the brief. “A biological male student need only declare a female gender identity to gain access to girls’ locker rooms where female students are in various states of undress. The guidelines further require schools to facilitate a student’s ‘social transition’ without notifying parents, and they allow biological males to compete on female athletic teams.”
Drummond said the Trump Administration’s concerns about these guidelines reflect the same commonsense understanding that biological sex matters to safety, privacy and fair competition.
Joining Drummond in signing the brief are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
