DRIVING THE DAY: Gov. Gavin Newsom this afternoon sat for a long meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House after gathering with lawmakers in the U.S. Capitol, as he continues his quest to secure string-free federal wildfire aid. Newsom’s team said his bipartisan visits included stops at the offices of California Reps. Brad Sherman, Judy Chu, George Whitesides, Ken Calvert and Doug LaMalfa. He also met with Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, Patty Murray (Wash.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.). LaMalfa told our Josh Siegel that he and the governor discussed conditions on wildfire aid, which has been floated by Republicans and supported by Speaker Mike Johnson. “We need to be able to sell this to my colleagues,” LaMalfa told Josh of the federal funding. “If we're going to send aid to California, are we going to get bang for the buck?” LaMalfa asked. “Or is this going to cost double just because it’s California? That's not a good sale for my colleagues.” Padilla’s office said the senator “reiterated his commitment to working with his colleagues in Congress to fully fund federal disaster relief without partisan strings attached.” After his more than 90-minute meeting with Trump, Newsom departed the White House campus before he could get chased down by the press. The governor's office called the meeting "very productive" and said Newsom "raised the critical need for federal assistance" and expressed appreciation for the president's support. Follow along for more in tomorrow’s Playbook. TRANS ATHLETE BAN: A new executive order from Trump banning transgender athletes from women’s sports will once again put California in the federal crosshairs. The president this afternoon held a ceremony at the White House to sign the order — just before he was scheduled to meet with Newsom — saying he would yank federal funding from schools that allow transgender sports participation. “With my action this afternoon, we are putting every school receiving taxpayer dollars on notice that if you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding,” Trump said. The order will almost certainly invite legal action, although Attorney General Rob Bonta hasn’t yet committed to a lawsuit. “We’re reviewing the president’s executive order and will be monitoring its implementation closely,” Bonta’s office said in a statement to Playbook. “We won’t hesitate to respond if the Trump administration attempts to delay or place unlawful conditions on important federal education funding.” The Department of Education has already reverted to the first-term Trump administration’s practice of enforcing Title IX, a statute barring sex-based discrimination, in relation to sex assigned at birth. A federal judge in January blocked an expansion of Title IX rules last year by former President Joe Biden’s administration to protect transgender students. In practice, Trump’s executive order means the federal government could use Title IX to investigate schools that don’t change their transgender athlete policies, referring cases to the U.S. Department of Justice — and cutting off federal funds. However, some transgender people have been successful in combating discriminatory policies in court. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2021 rejected an appeal from a school district over its bathroom policy after a transgender student and the ACLU spent six years fighting it. Bonta during a Tuesday news conference expressed support for the LGBTQ community, saying "transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are a protected class." Today, his office directed California hospitals to continue providing gender-affirming care to minors, regardless of Trump executive orders. The California Interscholastic Federation, which governs state high school sports competitions, allows transgender athletes to participate. Its rules say athletes should “have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records.” But even in deep-blue California, transgender athletes have dealt with backlash. In 2023, two transgender high school students who had qualified to compete at the girls’ state track and field preliminaries withdrew from the competition after facing harassment. Last year, San Jose State University was at the center of the culture-war firestorm after other teams refused to compete against its women’s volleyball team, which included a transgender athlete. The GOP-controlled House in January approved a bill that would prevent transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. California Republicans have introduced legislation that would ban transgender athletes at the state level, although it’s unlikely to get very far in the Capitol. California Rep. Mark Takano, who chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, said Trump’s order is a “federal takeover of sports throughout the country.” “Trans kids play sports at school for the same reasons as their peers: to be part of a community, challenge themselves, and learn sportsmanship,” Takano said in a statement. “In his campaign against these kids’ right to exist freely, President Trump’s executive order could open any school-age child up to demands for physical inspections of their bodies." — with help from Bianca Quilantan IT’S WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@politico.com.
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