Attorney General Bonta Opposes Trump Administration’s Attempt to Weaken Discrimination Protections for LGBTQ+ Americans in Federally Funded Programs

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta yesterday led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a comment letter opposing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s proposed changes that could incentivize recipients of HHS funding to comply with the Trump Administration’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies. The changes would, among other impacts, suggest that funding recipients are not required to protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity when preventing discrimination based on sex. In the letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that in proposing these changes, HHS exceeded its legal authority; created confusion and unnecessary burdens for federal funding applicants and recipients; and did not adequately provide an opportunity for informed public feedback.

“This proposal by HHS is yet another bad-faith attack by the Trump Administration against transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming individuals,” said Attorney General Bonta. “These changes would undermine laws that ensure fair and equal treatment for all Americans, not just LGBTQ+ individuals. HHS has overstepped its authority in an effort to threaten those seeking federal funding into complying with President Trump’s hateful agenda. We will fight to protect Americans from discrimination and ensure transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming individuals can express themselves and prosper free from unfair treatment.” 

On January 26, 2026, HHS published an information request seeking public comment on its proposed changes to HHS’s Assurance of Compliance form (the form). The form — which all applicants for federal funding from HHS must sign — requires HHS funding recipients to certify compliance with certain nondiscrimination laws. During the information request period, HHS did not publish the revised form containing its proposed changes. Instead, HHS simply summarized the changes and stated that the changes were intended to bring the form’s requirements in line with President Trump’s executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This executive order targets transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming individuals by directing federal agencies to recognize strictly two genders, defined based on individuals’ biological sexes. 

On April 24, HHS published a second notice regarding the changes, providing a further 30 days for public comments. The second notice included the revised form, which revealed all of HHS’s proposed changes, including the removal of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” from the definitions of “sex” in the form’s references to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which each prohibit discrimination based on sex. The proposed changes would also require all funding applicants to comply with conscience protections statutes as well as religious nondiscrimination authorities, neither of which have ever been required by the form and which only apply to specific recipients and HHS programs. HHS claims that recipients could be liable under the False Claims Act (FCA) if they do not comply with the proposed changes. 

In yesterday’s comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition urge the U.S. Office of Management and Budget to deny HHS permission to make its proposed changes to the form. In the letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that:

• HHS’s proposed changes to legal definitions of “sex” in HHS’s references to Title IX and Section 1557 would create unnecessary confusion for federal funding applicants regarding their obligations under nondiscrimination laws.
• HHS’s proposal to require compliance with conscience protections statutes and religious nondiscrimination authorities is improperly vague and exceeds HHS’s authority.
• HHS attempts to improperly leverage the FCA to threaten federal funding applicants into complying with the Trump Administration’s policy agenda before the proposed changes to the form have even been approved.
• HHS failed to publish the revised form containing the proposed changes when providing notice of its proposal, therefore unlawfully depriving the public of the ability to provide informed feedback regarding the proposed changes.
• HHS’s proposed changes inaccurately suggest that the nondiscrimination laws covered by the form apply to all aspects of state and local governments.
• HHS’s proposed changes would impose significant compliance burdens on federal funding recipients and applicants, and HHS has failed to properly ensure these burdens are as small as possible.
• HHS’s proposed changes violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Attorney General Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James co-led the filing of yesterday’s letter. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.