Donald Trump administration slams 'indefensible' California ruling as war over transgender athletes escalates

The Trump administration has called out California governor Gavin Newsom and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) ahead of a postseason track-and-field meet which could feature a transgender athlete.

The athlete in question, who transitioned from male to female, attends Jurupa Valley High School and is set to compete over the weekend in the high jump, triple jump, and long jump.

Julie Hartman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, released a statement blasting the CIF for allowing the athlete to compete.

Hartman also took issue with the CIF reportedly telling cisgender competitors to remove t-shirts which read 'Protect Girls Sports'. The Trump administration has instituted a federal Title IX investigation into the CIF for policies which allow transgender athletes to compete in high school sports.

'CIF's and Jurupa Valley High School's apparent flouting of federal civil rights law by allowing a male athlete to compete in a female California track and field [Southern Sectional Division 3 Final] this Saturday, and the alleged retaliation against the girls who are protesting this, is indefensible,' Hartman told .

It's not clear how many transgender athletes compete in sports at the high school level. At the college level, NCAA president Charlie Baker testified that he knew of less than ten trans athletes out of over 510,000. The NCAA would later ban trans athletes from competing.

In response to Hartman's statement, the Jurupa Unified School District told Fox, "JUSD continues to follow both California law and CIF policy regarding school athletics.

'Both state law and CIF policy currently require that students be permitted to participate in athletic teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records.

'JUSD remains committed to protecting the rights and safety of the students we serve, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws.'

The CIF has vocally opposed the Trump Administration's executive order to institute a ban on transgender athletes in sports.

Three Christian schools in California - JSerra Catholic, Orange Lutheran, and Crean Lutheran - sent a joint letter to the CIF last week.

The three schools, which all reside in Republican congressional districts in Orange County, told the institution that its policy 'fosters an environment that is increasingly hostile to religious member schools.'

'CIF's expectation that all faith-based schools facilitate the CIF Gender Identity Policy puts religious schools in the untenable position of adhering to the tenets of their faith in their classrooms and communities but practicing something contrary to their faith on their athletic fields,' the letter read.

As Fox News' reporting notes, the trans athlete in question has won events they've competed in over cisgender women. However, athletes who have been vocally against this athlete's inclusion have also beaten the trans competitor in events as well.

The CIF admitted that officials made athletes take off the 'Protect Girls Sports' shirts, saying they didn't comply with standard apparel policy.

'Per the CIF Southern Section Playoff Bulletin, all athletes must be dressed in proper, school issued, track uniforms.

'The student-athletes were asked to comply with this while in the on-field event area, as they were wearing said shirts over their school-issued uniform,' the CIF said in a statement.