GOP governor says state is prepared to sue a Harris administration over trans athletes in women's sports

EXCLUSIVE: Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that his state is prepared to file lawsuits if a potential Harris administration gets in the way of Idaho's effort to prevent trans inclusion in women's sports. 

"If necessary, that's what we will do," Little said when asked if his state and Attorney General Raúl R. Labrador would sue the federal government if an incoming Harris administration tried to block his executive order to carry out the Defending Women's Sports Act. 

Little added that he is expecting pushback against his state's ability to carry out that law from the federal government in the event of a Vice President Kamala Harris victory. However, he expects other states to follow suit in fighting back against that pushback, if it comes to it. 

"We will probably do it in conjunction with some of our other governors, attorneys general and states, but we will do it in Idaho, that's undeniable," Little said. "Some of these things need to have a critical mass to have standing, to be successful, but I know there's many like-minded states that are going to do the same thing that we've done here in Idaho."

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Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued an executive order targeting illegal voting, which is rare in the state. (Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Harris has been mum about her stance on transgenders in women's sports throughout her presidential campaign. However, she has been a proponent of several federal efforts to enable transgender inclusivity in women's sports on a national scale. 

This includes the Biden-Harris administration's rewrite of Title IX, which went into effect earlier this April, which multiple experts and witnesses previously told Fox News Digital would lead to an increased volume of trans athletes competing against and sharing locker rooms with girls and women. 

Harris has come under fire multiple times for her role as attorney general of California in ensuring prisoners and illegal immigrants had access to taxpayer-funded transition surgery.

The vast majority of Harris' Democrat allies in Congress have supported the Equality Act, as well. The proposed bill would require schools to include biologically male athletes who identify as transgender females on girls' and women's sports teams.

In March 2023, Democrats advocated for a transgender bill of rights, proposing a resolution "recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights." The resolution specifically called for federal law to ensure that biological men can "participate in sports on teams and in programs that best align with their gender identity; [and] use school facilities that best align with their gender identity."

At a recent event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance called out President Biden and Harris for the Title IX changes resulting in federal funding for free lunch programs being withheld from schools that prevent transgender inclusion in women's sports. 

Vance appeared to be referring to a May 2022 Department of Agriculture memorandum directing state agencies and Food and Nutrition Act program operators to "expeditiously review their program discrimination complaint procedures and make any changes necessary to ensure complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation are processed and evaluated as complaints of discrimination on the basis of sex."

However, Little said he is not aware of this issue affecting any public school in his state yet. He is hoping to see a former President Donald Trump victory next week that will ensure it does not ever affect his schools. 

"I'm sure it will get litigated if we have a change in the administration next week, and it will be a moot point," Little said. 

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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally on Oct. 28, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Trump has advocated for a full-on ban on trans inclusion in girls' and women's sports in the weeks leading up to the election. 

Little said he would support a nationwide ban on all trans inclusion in women's sports in the event of a Trump presidency.

Idaho is one of 23 states that have laws set up to restrict or prevent transgender inclusion in women's sports. However, even some of the states with those laws have had incidents where trans inclusion in a girls' sport was enabled via the ruling of a federal judge. 

Judges Landya McCafferty in New Hampshire and M. Hannah Lauck of Virginia, both of whom were appointed during the Obama administration, each passed rulings this year that enabled biological males to play on high school girls soccer and tennis teams. McCafferty passed a rule that allowed two trans athletes to compete on girls high school soccer teams in New Hampshire, while Lauck ruled that an 11-year-old trans tennis player was allowed to compete against girls the same age in Virginia. 

Little admits he worries about similar rulings affecting schools in his state, especially from judges from California. Idaho is in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which is shared with California, Oregon and Washington. 

"You always worry about it," Little said. "We are in the ninth circuit, Idaho is, which, there is a lot of judges out of California, but that's a problem that we meet with on all kinds of fronts." 

Court intervention for a situation over a trans athlete playing a women's sport in his state is possible later in November, when Boise State University's women's volleyball team is set to host San Jose State. Boise State forfeited a match against San Jose State that was set to take place in California earlier this year. That forfeit came amid an ongoing national controversy over a transgender player on the team and another player engaged in a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging she was never told that the birth sex of that trans athlete despite sharing a team locker room and bedroom with that player. 

Little previously commended Boise State for the decision. However, the two teams are scheduled to play again at Boise State's campus in Idaho on Nov. 21, and Boise State has not yet announced whether that game will be played or not. 

With the Defending Women's Sports Act having been signed into law in Idaho, and if the trans athlete is still on San Jose State's roster by the time that match comes around, playing that match would be a violation of state law. 

Little said that a judge and prosecutor would likely determine the repercussions of that match if it is played, but he expects Boise State to forfeit ahead of time if the trans athlete is still on the team. 

"That will be something for a prosecutor and a judge to determine, I've got a pretty good level of confidence that it's not going to take place against the Boise State women athletes, it's just not going to happen here," Little said. 

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.