The various states get federal funding for a lot of things that states rightly should be handling all on their own, like state highways, education, and many other things. But those funds always come with strings attached; the national 55mph speed limit was pushed on the states in a neat little bit of federal extortion, wherein Washington threatened to withhold federal highway funds. Increasing the drinking age to 21 was enforced in the same way.

The Trump administration has been making noises about yanking a bunch of federal funding from California, but for a better reason; the move is being taken in large part because California refuses to abide by the administration’s Title IX guidelines about allowing boys in girls’ sports. According to “multiple sources,” as CNN reports, that process is underway.

The Trump administration is preparing to cancel a large swath of federal funding for California, an effort which could begin as soon as Friday, according to multiple sources.

Agencies are being told to start identifying grants the administration can withhold from California. On Capitol Hill, at least one committee was told recently by a whistleblower that all research grants to the state were going to be cancelled, according to one of the sources familiar with the matter.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

California has been fooling around. Now they’re finding out. There will doubtless be legal battles over all this, but in the “transgender athletes” issue that is at the heart of a lot of this, California is on the wrong side of a 95-5 issue. What’s more, California’s impeccably coiffed Governor Newsom is betting his annual Brylcreem budget that he can finesse that issue well enough to remain popular in California while positioning himself for a 2028 presidential run. 

That’s probably not going to work.

President Donald Trump has long made Democratic-led California a target.

Just last month, he threatened to withhold federal funding from California over a transgender athlete’s participation in a sporting event — the latest example of the president trying to use funding as leverage to enact his agenda. The administration recently cut $126.4 million in flood prevention funding projects, and Trump repeatedly went after the state’s handling of devastating wildfires earlier this year. The president and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have also publicly feuded for years.

Higher education in the state could be hit hard by Trump’s move. GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of California, who said he was unaware of the imminent grant cancellations, told CNN he recently met with university representatives who were concerned about the future of their funding.

They should be concerned. Maybe those university representatives should be looking closer to home for the solution to this problem; maybe, say, having a chat with local school boards.