This piece is part of MI x DW, a collaboration that brings Daily Wire readers exclusive commentary and research from the Manhattan Institute’s world-class team of scholars.
In this piece, Joseph Figliolia unpacks the Supreme Court&#8217;s recent decision to strike down a Colorado ban on certain kinds of therapy for patients with gender dysphoria. While the decision does not resolve the debate entirely, Figliolia stresses its importance, noting that it revived an important debate in the medical community and clears the way for real progress.
***
Last month, the Supreme Court struck down Colorado&#8217;s ban on so-called “conversion therapy” for patients with gender confusion.
The 8-1 decision on Chiles v. Salazar is not just consequential for constitutional law but for the future of gender medicine. In striking down Colorado’s law, the Court ruling put a stop to a dangerous regime of viewpoint-based censorship in medicine. The decision raises <a href="https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">serious constitutional questions</a> for similar laws on the books in 22 other states.
The suit was brought by a licensed mental health counselor, Kaley Chiles, who was prevented from talking with clients in ways that could help them reconcile their mind and body. Instead, the state insisted she unambiguously affirm and facilitate “gender transitions.”
Lower courts accepted the argument that these laws merely regulate professional conduct, subject only to minimal constitutional scrutiny. The Supreme Court rejected that logic. When the state restricts what a therapist can say based on the viewpoint expressed, it triggers the highest level of First Amendment protection.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s lone dissent reflects the prevailing view within much of the medical establishment: that “conversion” practices are inherently harmful, and that gender identity exists as a fixed and natural category within the spectrum of human diversity. But this position rests on contested assumptions about the evidence base and about the nature of gender identity itself.
Much of the research cited to justify these bans focuses on sexual orientation change efforts in adults, not therapeutic approaches addressing gender dysphoria in minors. In recent years, advocacy groups and <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq/sexual-orientation-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">professional associations</a> have expanded the definition of “conversion therapy” to include nearly any attempt to explore or resolve gender-related distress without immediate affirmation — collapsing fundamentally different clinical questions into a single prohibited category.
Yet gender dysphoria in youth is not <a href="https://segm.org/gender-dysphoria-diagnosis-desistance-germany" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diagnostically stable</a>. Researchers have found that many children who experience early dysphoria grow out of it by the end of puberty.
<h3 dir="ltr"><a href="https://manhattan.institute/subscribe?utm_source=DailyWire&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=reihan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for more Manhattan Institute content.</a></h3>
At the same time, the number of young people identifying as transgender has risen dramatically in recent years. Using CDC data, the psychologist Jean Twenge estimated that <a href="https://www.generationtechblog.com/p/transgender-identity-how-much-has" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trans-identification increased 422%</a> among 18–24-year-olds between 2014 and 2023, notably with no corresponding increase among adults older than 35. This suggests that trans-identification&#8217;s “<a href="https://www.realityslaststand.com/p/the-casualties-of-concept-creep" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concept creep</a>” is trickling down into young people’s self-concepts and uniting otherwise distinct clinical populations under a single “transgender” <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq/transgender-people-gender-identity-gender-expression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">umbrella</a>.
None of this proves that any single therapeutic approach is correct. But it does underscore the need for open clinical inquiry — not legal mandates that enforce one model while prohibiting others.
An affirmation-only approach risks flattening complex psychological and developmental factors into a single predetermined outcome. Such adherence to ideological conformity has gotten us a <a href="https://x.com/benryanwriter/status/2017471549536661927" target="_blank" rel="noopener">list of malpractice suits</a> and the recent landmark <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/a-legal-first-that-could-change-gender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$2 million payout to Fox Varian</a>, who underwent a double mastectomy at sixteen despite a complex and troubling psychiatric and family history.
This should not come as a surprise. Many patients presenting with gender-related distress also experience significant psychiatric comorbidities, and their cases often require careful, individualized assessment.
As a Department of Health and Human Services report on pediatric gender dysphoria <a href="https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/gender-dysphoria-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convincingly argues</a>, psychotherapy is preferred as a first-line treatment for gender dysphoria because it possesses a more favorable risk-benefit ratio than medical interventions, which have only “low certainty” evidence for benefit according to evidence reviews. This view is supported by a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apa.70533" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nationwide cohort study of Finland</a>, which found patient populations after 2010 displayed more complex psychiatric needs both before and after clinic referral — many of which were not resolved by medical transition.
Clinicians should be free to explore these various treatment options with their patients. Yet laws like Colorado’s effectively prohibit that exploration, enforcing an ideological boundary around acceptable care.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Chiles does not resolve the broader medical debate. But it does something equally important: it reopens the space for that debate to occur.
If mental health care is to remain grounded in evidence, ethics, and individualized treatment, it cannot be governed by laws that dictate conclusions in advance. The Court has recognized that when the state mandates one viewpoint while silencing others, it is no longer regulating medicine — it is enforcing orthodoxy.
That is a dangerous precedent. And, at least for now, one the Constitution still forbids.
Joseph Figliolia is a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute.

President Biden Delivers State Of The Union Address

How The Supreme Court Dismantled The ‘Conversion Therapy’ Lie

Colorado

MI x DW

Supreme Court

Transgender

The U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-hands-down-major-conservative-win-in-near-unanimous-decision">ruled</a> on March 31 in <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/chiles-v-salazar/?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped">Chiles v. Salazar</a> that voluntary conversations between a counselor and her young clients are protected under the First Amendment’s free speech clause. This monumental decision condemned the state’s unlawful and, according to the court, “egregious” attempt to censor discussions about biological reality in the counseling room.
In my role with Alliance Defending Freedom, I had the privilege of standing before the high court last fall and advocating on behalf of licensed Colorado counselor Kaley Chiles, who challenged the state’s counseling censorship law.
Kaley wants to provide what so many children and families are desperate for: A listening ear and compassionate advice as kids talk through what it feels like to wrestle with their identity and body. As more and more young people across the country are becoming distressed about their gender or sexuality, they want a professional to talk to about their feelings and struggles. The young clients who seek out Kaley for advice do so because they want to grow comfortable with their bodies and avoid harmful drugs and procedures.
<div id="attachment_1073215" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1073215" class="size-large wp-image-1073215" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles14-scaled-1-864x576.jpg" alt="Source: Alliance Defending Freedom" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles14-scaled-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles14-scaled-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles14-scaled-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles14-scaled-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles14-scaled-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles14-scaled-1-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles14-scaled-1-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Source: Alliance Defending Freedom</div>
Colorado’s law forbids Kaley from having those voluntary conversations with her clients under age 18. Indeed, the law violates her freedom of speech by prohibiting licensed counselors like her from engaging in voluntary counseling conversations with minor clients who want to change some expression, behavior, identity, or feeling associated with their “sexual orientation or gender identity.”
On the issue of gender identity, the law only censors counseling conversations in one direction. It allows conversations that push young people toward a gender identity different from their sex but forbids conversations that help them grow comfortable with their body and realign their identity with their sex when they desire to do that. The law also threatens severe penalties, including thousands of dollars in fines, suspension from practice, and even revocation of the counselor’s license.
This one-sided censorship comes amidst a growing national mental-health crisis and prevents many Colorado children from obtaining the counseling that they desire and that could help them. Roughly 90% of children who experience gender dysphoria before puberty will regain comfort with their sex if not pushed toward harmful drugs and procedures.
In its opinion, the Supreme Court explained, “We do not doubt that the question ‘how best to help minors’ struggling with issues of gender identity or sexual orientation is presently a subject of ‘fierce public debate.’ But Colorado’s law addressing conversion therapy does not just ban physical interventions. In cases like this, it censors speech based on viewpoint.”
“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety,” the court continued. “Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same. But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country. It reflects instead a judgment that every American possesses an inalienable right to think and speak freely, and a faith in the free marketplace of ideas as the best means for discovering truth. However well-intentioned, any law that suppresses speech based on viewpoint represents an ‘egregious’ assault on both of those commitments.”
<div id="attachment_1073217" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1073217" class="size-large wp-image-1073217" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles17-scaled-1-864x576.jpg" alt="Source: Alliance Defending Freedom" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles17-scaled-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles17-scaled-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles17-scaled-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles17-scaled-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles17-scaled-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles17-scaled-1-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/chiles17-scaled-1-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Source: Alliance Defending Freedom</div>
This is a massive win for free speech, common sense, and families desperate to help their children. The decision will help end the authoritarian days of Colorado inserting itself into the counseling room and silencing good counselors from speaking body-affirming messages their clients want to hear. It also takes us a long way down the road to ensuring that kids in Colorado, and around the country, who desire to embrace and live consistent with their sex are free to seek help by talking to licensed counselors like Kaley.
Significantly, the Supreme Court’s ruling will help protect counselors from similar laws in more than 20 states and over 100 localities across the country, giving them a path forward to help struggling youth seeking professional guidance.
From professional groups to medical malpractice verdicts, the tide is turning on how we as a society help young people struggling with gender issues. Those kids need quality counseling, not a one-way path to dangerous body-altering drugs and surgeries. All children deserve real help affirming that their bodies are not a mistake and that they are wonderfully made. The Supreme Court affirms that the First Amendment protects those messages in the counseling room.
* * *
Jim Campbell is chief legal counsel with <a href="http://www.adflegal.org/?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped">Alliance Defending Freedom</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/ADFLegal">@ADFLegal</a>) and argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Kaley Chiles in Chiles v. Salazar.

Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Policy Gets Supreme Court Hearing

The Court Just Said The Government Can’t Control What Your Child’s Counselor Says

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Conversion Therapy

Counseling

First Amendment

Free Speech

Gender

LGBTQ

Opinion

SCOTUS

Ketanji Brown Jackson Needs To Be Impeached. This Dangerously Idiotic Dissent Is Proof.

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Matt Walsh

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled in Chiles v. Salazar. The basic concept of the Supreme Court ruling was that the state of Colorado was wrong to ban what is called conversion therapy. 
The 2019 Colorado law prohibited licensed mental health professionals from engaging in conversion therapy with patients under 18 years of age. They defined conversion therapy to include any practice or treatment that attempts to change an individual&#8217;s sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as any effort to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions toward individuals of the same sex.
That same law allowed counselors to provide “acceptance, support, and understanding for identity exploration and development,” and to assist persons “undergoing gender transition.”
In other words, the Colorado law said that if a kid comes to you with gender confusion, you are not allowed to say, “Boys are boys and girls are girls. Let&#8217;s help you be more comfortable in your body.”
If a boy says, “I&#8217;m a girl, “you have to affirm him. And if you don&#8217;t affirm him, you&#8217;re engaged in conversion therapy, and you can be prosecuted under the law in the state of Colorado.
If a kid comes to you and says, “Listen, I&#8217;m confused about my feelings of sexual attraction,” you&#8217;re not allowed to talk that through and say, “You know what? You&#8217;re 14 years old. A lot of people are confused about sexual attraction at 14 years old. You&#8217;re being hit by hormones that you&#8217;ve never experienced before, and you really don&#8217;t have any sort of clear line as to how to live your life, so let&#8217;s talk this thing through.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2400-sub?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
That might be conversion therapy, because that could be construed as an attempt to change behavior, or eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction toward individuals of the same sex.
Instead, you&#8217;re supposed to just give that kid a Pride flag and tell them to get out there and march.
The plaintiff in this case, Kelly Chiles, holds a master&#8217;s degree in clinical mental health and a state counseling license in Colorado.
According to the Supreme Court, Chiles doesn&#8217;t start counseling with any predetermined goals. Instead, she sits down with clients, discusses their goals, and then formulates methods of counseling that will most benefit them, seeking throughout to respect their client&#8217;s fundamental right of self-determination, matters of sexuality and gender. The clients sometimes have different agendas, according to the Supreme Court; some are perfectly happy being gay or lesbian or transgender identifying, and others want to reduce or eliminate unwanted sexual attractions, or change sexual behaviors, or grow in the experience of harmony with their bodies.
Under Colorado law, those last people are just plumb out of luck. There&#8217;s nothing they can do. Because if you, for example, are a person who has a fetish and you don&#8217;t want to have that fetish anymore, according to Colorado law, you are not allowed as a therapist to try to change an individual&#8217;s behaviors regarding sexual or romantic attraction.
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who is not a strict textualist when it comes to these matters, wrote the opinion, and his basic opinion is pretty simple: The First Amendment allows therapists to say what they want to say during therapy. 
The only person who voted in dissent was, of course — wait for it — Ketanji Brown Jackson, the dumbest person on the Supreme Court.
This is saying a lot because Sonia Sotomayor is also on the Supreme Court.
Gorsuch wrote:
<blockquote>Consistent with the First Amendment’s jealous protections for the individual’s right to think and speak freely, this Court has long held that laws regulating speech based on its subject matter or “communicative content” are “presumptively unconstitutional.” &#8230; We have recognized, as well, the even greater dangers associated with regulations that discriminate based on the speaker’s point of view.</blockquote>
In other words, the big problem here is that it&#8217;s not just that Colorado is putting regulations on speech; those regulations on speech are content-dependent. Colorado says you can say these things that we agree with, but you cannot say these things with which we disagree.
Gorsuch continued:
<blockquote>While the First Amendment protects many and varied forms of expression, the spoken word is perhaps the quintessential form of protected speech. And that is exactly the kind of expression in which Ms. Chiles seeks to engage. As a talk therapist, all Ms. Chiles does is speak with clients; she does not prescribe medication, use medical devices, or employ any physical methods. &#8230;
Consider, too, where the State and dissent’s logic leads. Not long ago, many medical experts and organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association, considered homosexuality a mental disorder. On the view Colorado and the dissent advance, a law adopted during that era prohibiting counselors from engaging in the “substandard care” of affirming their clients’ homosexuality would have been subject to only rational-basis or intermediate-scrutiny review—and likely upheld. Today, tomorrow, and forever, too, any professional speech that deviates from “current beliefs about the safety and efficacy of various medical treatments” could be silenced with relative ease.</blockquote>
In other words, the court is saying, “If Colorado is suggesting that a state can determine what is the best course of care with regard to opinions on open matters of gender and sexuality, and then mandate that sort of stuff on subject matter basis, that is violation of free speech.”
The court goes out of its way to really slap Jackson. That last statement — “Today, tomorrow, and forever, too, any professional speech that deviates from ‘current beliefs about the safety and efficacy of various medical treatments’ could be silenced with relative ease,” is followed by this: “It is a consequence Colorado freely acknowledges. And one the dissent embraces.”
The opinion then cites Buck v. Bell. That is a scathing rebuttal to Jackson, because Buck v. Bell was the case that suggested that you had the ability under the law to sexually sterilize inmates of institutions, because that was the prevailing science of the time. Jackson has said that she liked that law.
Jackson said in the Chiles case that Colorado was simply “restricting a dangerous therapy modality,” adding that the court&#8217;s opinion was “unprincipled and unworkable.” She followed with a long statement about how wonderful the gender orientation of left-wing philosophy is.
Ketanji Brown Jackson&#8217;s dissent is a reminder that if the Left had complete control over the mechanisms of government, it would simply regulate into law all of the most specious and idiotic views about science.
Without President Trump as president, we were super-close to that world, because President Trump is responsible for several selections on the Supreme Court. In this case, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor ruled with the majority. 
But if there were a bunch of Democratic appointees on the court, is that how this would have gone?

Blue Hour, United States Supreme Court Building, Washington DC, America

Supreme Court Ends Colorado’s War On Reality

Ben Shapiro

Mental Health

Teenagers

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Tuesday in favor of a Christian counselor who challenged a Colorado law she said could punish her for helping gender-confused children become comfortable with their own bodies instead of pursuing irreversible transgender medical procedures.
The case pitted the State of Colorado against counselor Kaley Chiles, who challenged a Colorado law that <a href="https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2019a_1129_signed.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prohibited</a> counseling that “attempts or purports to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.” Chiles said that the law violates her First Amendment rights and has prevented her from accepting several clients.
&#8220;We conclude that the courts below failed to apply sufficiently rigorous First Amendment scrutiny in this case. Start with the most obvious point. While the First Amendment protects many and varied forms of expression, the spoken word is perhaps the quintessential form of protected speech. And that is exactly the kind of expression in which Ms. Chiles seeks to engage,&#8221; Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion.
Chiles, who was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), argued that Colorado’s law, passed in 2019, is a direct attack on professional speech.
&#8220;I hope this win for free speech will fuel a greater pursuit of truth. Both amongst the professionals and in the counseling room,&#8221; Chiles said on Tuesday in a press briefing attended by The Daily Wire. &#8220;Our kids deserve it.  The law I&#8217;m challenging harms kids and silences speech. Kids deserve real help, affirming that their bodies are not a mistake, and that they are wonderfully made. I&#8217;m grateful that my speech is protected.&#8221;
Chiles said the ruling would preserve more options for families.
&#8220;I am thrilled that the ruling will help struggling kids and families who are seeking professional guidance consistent with biological reality,&#8221; she said.
The court agreed that Colorado&#8217;s law did not hold up to First Amendment scrutiny.
&#8220;Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy, as applied to Ms. Chiles’s talk therapy, regulates speech based on viewpoint, and the lower courts erred by failing to apply sufficiently rigorous First Amendment scrutiny,&#8221; the majority held.
Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wrote a concurring opinion. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter.
Jackson said in her dissent that Colorado&#8217;s law was constitutional because it was the state regulating healthcare.
&#8220;In my view, it cannot also be the case that Colorado’s decision to restrict a dangerous therapy modality that, incidentally, involves provider speech is presumptively unconstitutional,&#8221; she said. &#8220;In concluding otherwise, the Court’s opinion misreads our precedents, is unprincipled and unworkable, and will eventually prove untenable for those who rely upon the long-recognized responsibility of States to regulate the medical profession for the protection of public health.&#8221;
Jim Campbell, who argued the case for Alliance Defending Freedom, told The Daily Wire that the 8-1 decision was a major affirmation of free speech.
&#8220;It sends a message that viewpoint discrimination is egregious,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It is a really significant vote of confidence for the First Amendment. It is a condemnation of viewpoint discrimination, and it is a recognition that counselors must be free to have voluntary conversations with clients who are seeking their help.&#8221;
The ruling is expected to have broad implications for similar laws, called &#8220;conversion therapy bans,&#8221; across the country. Over 20 states have passed similar statutes and could now be in legal jeopardy.
Conservative groups like the American Principles Project praised the ruling from the court.
&#8220;The Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for religious believers, parents, and, most importantly, vulnerable children,&#8221; said American Principles Project President Terry Schilling. &#8220;Colorado Democrats have shown they will stomp on the rights of anyone who stands in the way of the well-heeled gay and transgender lobby—whether it is bakers, doctors, or desperate families.&#8221;

MixCollage-31-Mar-2026-09-29-AM-4011

Supreme Court Hands Down Major Conservative Win In Near-Unanimous Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-case-on-colorado-dispute-over-climate-change/">announced</a> Monday that it will take up a major climate change lawsuit targeting the energy industry — a case that could determine the future of similar lawsuits filed by left-wing states and municipalities across the country.
The Court agreed to review Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County. They granted the hearing after the Colorado Supreme Court allowed Boulder County’s state-law claims to proceed, rejecting arguments from energy producers that the lawsuit is preempted by federal law. 
The decision comes amid a wave of nearly three dozen lawsuits brought by leftist jurisdictions seeking to hold oil and gas companies financially liable for alleged climate change damages.
Boulder County’s lawsuit accuses energy companies of knowingly contributing to climate change and claims the resulting environmental effects have caused millions of dollars in damage to local property and residents. Energy producers have countered that such claims attempt to regulate interstate and global emissions through state tort law, an approach they argue is incompatible with the Constitution and federal environmental statutes.
Legal experts say the Supreme Court’s intervention signals concern about allowing state courts to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woke-lawfare-is-the-latest-frontier-for-the-lefts-antidemocratic-attacks-report-says">set</a> national energy and climate policy.
Christopher Mills, a constitutional attorney and former law clerk to Clarence Thomas, said the Court is correctly recognizing the national stakes involved. “The Court&#8217;s action shows that it rightly recognizes that this is a national issue in need of an immediate national resolution,” Mills <a href="https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_8d590b75-5787-4f63-8784-8a722960477b.html">said</a>. “Letting these copycat lawsuits fester in state courts across the country is a recipe for uncertainty, undermining American energy production and harming consumers.”
Todd Zywicki, a law professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, described the case as a test of whether local governments can effectively impose national policy through litigation. “For years, trial lawyers and left-wing municipalities have used state law as a backdoor to impose their preferred energy policies on the entire country — without a vote, without Congress, and without accountability,” Zywicki said, adding that the Constitution does not permit such an end run around federal authority.
Former Bush administration official John Shu emphasized that greenhouse gas emissions, by definition, do not respect state borders, placing them squarely within Congress’s regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause and the Clean Air Act.
Boulder County, for its part, argued that Supreme Court review is premature because the case has not reached a final judgment. The justices nevertheless agreed to hear the dispute and directed the parties to address whether the Court has jurisdiction to review the case at this stage. 
The incentive for Boulder to resist Supreme Court review right now is that State and local governments have generally had more success keeping these climate lawsuits alive in friendly state courts, where judges have been willing to treat them as traditional nuisance or consumer-protection cases. Once the Supreme Court weighs in, especially on the federal preemption question, a ruling against Boulder could wipe out not just this case but dozens of similar lawsuits nationwide in one stroke.
Oral arguments are expected in the fall, with a decision likely in 2026, and one that could determine whether state courts may continue serving as battlegrounds for national climate policy or whether such questions must remain with Congress.

Supreme Court Releases Opinions

How The Left-Wing Climate Crusade May Be Nearing Its Breaking Point

Supreme Court Takes Up Case To Determine If States Can Sue Energy Companies Over Climate Change

Climate Change

Energy

Colorado Democrats have introduced a bill that would make the Centennial State the first to fully legalize prostitution.
<a href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb26-097">Senate Bill 97</a>, sponsored by Democrat Senate Majority Whip Nick Hinrichsen, would repeal penalties for prostitution, currently a petty offense under Colorado law. It would also allow for “soliciting for prostitution, keeping a place of prostitution, patronizing a prostitute, and prostitute making display.”
Michael Allen, district attorney for Colorado’s 4th Judicial District and the top Republican candidate for state attorney general, called the bill “disgraceful.”
“Coloradans are leaving this state in record numbers because crime is rising and the cost of living is out of control — yet radical Democrats in the legislature are focused on legalizing prostitution,” Allen said in a statement.
Colorado <a href="https://www.thecentersquare.com/colorado/article_12d02ddb-6814-494e-996c-e67711def869.html">ranked</a> 13th in the nation with 88 human trafficking cases in 2024. Preliminary data show the state had 110 cases in 2025, surpassing its previous record of 107 in 2023, according to Center Square.
“Human trafficking is inseparable from violent crime, drug activity, and organized criminal networks,” Allen said. “Legalizing prostitution will only fuel these dangers and further victimize the most vulnerable among us.”
Prostitution is legal in certain Nevada counties, while Maine legalized prostitution, but criminalized paying for sex.
The legislation also legalizes advertising prostitution and escort services and removes language classifying buildings used for prostitution as public nuisances. If passed, it would not allow for any local laws prohibiting prostitution.
“Criminalizing prostitution endangers adults who engage in consensual sexual activity,” the bill reads. “Sex workers deserve clarity and certainty that they can safely conduct business within the state, regardless of the local governing authority.”
The bill does not allow paying for sex with children or pimping.
Co-sponsors of the bill include Democrat Senate Assistant Majority Leader Lisa Cutter and Democrat representatives Lorena García and Rebekah Stewart.
The ACLU of Colorado supports the bill, but a few towns, including Fountain, Monument, and Woodland Park, are opposing it, <a href="https://www.westword.com/news/colorado-could-legalize-prostituion-sex-work-new-bill-40843835/">according</a> to Westword.
The bill has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee, which includes Hinrichsen, but a hearing date has not been set. Democrats have a 5-2 majority on the committee. If passed, the bill would take effect immediately.
“The Democrats running for attorney general must join me in condemning this legislation and the most extreme elements of their party — immediately,” Allen said. “Colorado deserves better.”

Police Conduct Major Prostitution Sting

‘Disgraceful’: Colorado Bill Would Legalize Prostitution

Nevada

Prostitution

Social Issues

U.S.

It’s <a href="https://schoolchoiceweek.com/">National School Choice Week</a> in America, and the advancement of education freedom is sweeping the country.
Governors are opting-in their states to the new federal tax credit scholarship at rapid rates. The scholarship allows taxpayers to contribute up to $1,700 per year to a qualified non-profit scholarship-granting organization and receive a nonrefundable dollar-for-dollar tax credit. Organizations like <a href="https://www.acescholarships.org/">ACE Scholarships</a> award scholarships to K-12 students. Federal tax credit scholarships can be used for a variety of educational expenses, including tuition, fees, books, tutoring, transportation, and services for students with special needs.
The landmark legislation was fittingly <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2025/07/09/how-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-will-help-kids-escape-failing-government-schools/">signed</a> into law on Independence Day last year by President Donald Trump as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Already, nineteen states are set to participate in the federal tax credit scholarship, and more are on the way.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen took the lead in late September, signing an executive order communicating the intention for Nebraska to participate in the program.
Governor Pillen <a href="https://governor.nebraska.gov/surrounded-students-gov-pillen-signs-order-opting-federal-scholarship-tax-credit#:~:text=by%20Students%2C%20Gov.-,Pillen%20Signs%20Order%20Opting%20into%20Federal%20Scholarship%20Tax%20Credit,choice%20opportunities%20beginning%20in%202027.">explained</a>, “This program is a game-changer for Nebraska students and their families, generating funds that will help send students to the school of their choice.” Continuing, he <a href="https://governor.nebraska.gov/surrounded-students-gov-pillen-signs-order-opting-federal-scholarship-tax-credit#:~:text=by%20Students%2C%20Gov.-,Pillen%20Signs%20Order%20Opting%20into%20Federal%20Scholarship%20Tax%20Credit,choice%20opportunities%20beginning%20in%202027.">said</a>, “When it comes to educating our kids, we need to ensure that every student is in an environment that allows them to succeed. This program provides that opportunity, and I’m pleased to say that Nebraska will take part.”
Going a step further to communicate his full and enthusiastic support, Governor Pillen <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/29/nebraska-gets-a-private-school-tax-credit-thanks-to-trump/">declared</a>, “I am not opting this in … I am cannonballing it into the state of Nebraska.”
Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee, a strong school choice proponent, followed. South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden announced opt-in plans by mid-November, <a href="https://news.sd.gov/news?id=news_kb_article_view&amp;sys_id=d8db85984799b290a497127ba26d43a7#:~:text=Article%20Body,take%20advantage%20of%20the%20program.">stating</a>, “Our students are the future of our state, and we must equip them with the skills and resources they need to thrive. Parents should have the freedom to choose the learning environment that sets their kids up for success.” Additionally, Governor Rhoden <a href="https://news.sd.gov/news?id=news_kb_article_view&amp;sys_id=d8db85984799b290a497127ba26d43a7#:~:text=Article%20Body,take%20advantage%20of%20the%20program.">noted</a>, “My goal as Governor is to support innovation — not stand in the way. So, we will continue to champion policies that expand the freedom to learn for our students.”
<div id="attachment_1033419" style="width: 826px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1033419" class="size-large wp-image-1033419" src="https://drwordpress.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2206101099-816x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) attends the executive order signing ceremony to reduce the size and scope of the Education Department in the East Room of the White House on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. The order instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon, former head of the Small Business Administration and co-founder of the World Wrestling Entertainment, to shrink the $100 billion department, which cannot be dissolved without Congressional approval. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)" width="816" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2206101099-816x576.jpg 816w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2206101099-300x212.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2206101099-768x542.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2206101099.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 816px) 100vw, 816px" />Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</div>
In December, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the first Democratic governor to declare his intention to opt his state into the federal tax credit scholarship, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/colorado-jared-polis-school-choice-opt-in-tax-credit-70684840?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqd6Gye1vD2r7iUve5VEV6nzbD8u4mqRJLNak6f2V_Ylx0BjOxObBbVmsCc2AwQ%3D&amp;gaa_ts=6976b435&amp;gaa_sig=VbmoDJ1phVmO6EUWJXlAZUmF_eRQMR6-1pQ0SHu8_PMWR2HoDzDg868wS9sO71EZTxDbbDLyUi94rz6lm37Btg%3D%3D">said</a>, “I would be crazy not to.” A spokesman for Governor Polis <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/colorado-jared-polis-school-choice-opt-in-tax-credit-70684840?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqd6Gye1vD2r7iUve5VEV6nzbD8u4mqRJLNak6f2V_Ylx0BjOxObBbVmsCc2AwQ%3D&amp;gaa_ts=6976b435&amp;gaa_sig=VbmoDJ1phVmO6EUWJXlAZUmF_eRQMR6-1pQ0SHu8_PMWR2HoDzDg868wS9sO71EZTxDbbDLyUi94rz6lm37Btg%3D%3D">explained</a> that the tax credit creates an “immense opportunity for Coloradans to support students in our state, but only if we opt in.”
That’s a key point because taxpayers nationwide can contribute up to $1,700 annually to a scholarship-granting organization, but scholarships can only be awarded to students in states that have opted in by the governor or a designee. Individuals residing in states that aren’t opted in may still contribute to a scholarship-granting organization in another state and receive the dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to $1,700. For this point alone, all governors nationwide — regardless of political party — should opt in so that students in their state benefit from the contributions of residents of their state. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/colorado-jared-polis-school-choice-opt-in-tax-credit-70684840?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqd6Gye1vD2r7iUve5VEV6nzbD8u4mqRJLNak6f2V_Ylx0BjOxObBbVmsCc2AwQ%3D&amp;gaa_ts=6976b435&amp;gaa_sig=VbmoDJ1phVmO6EUWJXlAZUmF_eRQMR6-1pQ0SHu8_PMWR2HoDzDg868wS9sO71EZTxDbbDLyUi94rz6lm37Btg%3D%3D">Governor Polis</a> is right — Governors “would be crazy not to.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott was the next to declare intention to participate. Governor Abbott has worked relentlessly to advance school choice in the Lone Star State. After calling <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2024/06/04/opinion-greg-abbott-went-to-war-with-texas-rinos-over-school-choice-he-appears-to-have-won-dr-keri-d-ingraham/?eer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">multiple special legislative sessions</a> in 2023 and then in 2024, <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2024/06/04/opinion-greg-abbott-went-to-war-with-texas-rinos-over-school-choice-he-appears-to-have-won-dr-keri-d-ingraham/?eer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voters ousted</a> several Texas House of Representatives members who had voted against school choice, Governor Abbott <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-signs-landmark-school-choice-legislation-into-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> universal school choice into law in 2025.
By mid-December, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry joined the early round of governors to opt in to the federal tax credit scholarship. In Governor Landry’s <a href="https://www.instagram.com/govjefflandry/p/DSYUHfvjxu1/?hl=af">words</a>, it “is yet another way we’re expanding opportunity and helping every child reach their full potential.”
But when January hit, the floodgates opened with governors opting their states in one right after another. First with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, followed by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, Idaho Governor Brad Little, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Indiana Governor Mike Braun, and Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo.
This week, during National School Choice Week, it’s anticipated that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a leader when it comes to education freedom for families, and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt will make announcements.
Not to be left out, look for the remaining Republican governors to add their states. They include New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte, North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Vermont Governor Phil Scott, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.
Additionally, there are 22 remaining Democratic Governors yet to opt in who would be wise to allow students in their states to benefit from scholarships funded by taxpayer contributions, recognizing that participating costs the states nothing. The typical claim that school choice takes money from public schools falls not only flat but is entirely false, as it’s a federal tax credit.
With the federal tax credit scholarship opt-ins combined with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-free-or-die-state-becomes-first-universal-school-choice-state-in-the-northeast">seventeen states</a> — West Virginia, Arizona, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Idaho, Wyoming, Texas, Indiana, and New Hampshire — enacting universal school choice over the past five years, education freedom is advancing across America.
It’s picking up speed and not poised to slow any time soon — all to the benefit of families, freedom, and the future of our nation.
* * *
Dr. Keri D. Ingraham is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, Director of the American Center for Transforming Education, and a Senior Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Children are waiting the school bus on a snow day in the morning in Lexington, Massachusetts on January 24, 2023

Why Governors Are Opting-In To School Choice At Record Speed

Why Governors Are Opting In To School Choice At Record Speed

Charter Schools

Education

governor

Nebraska

School Choice

tax credit

Tennessee

Texas

The Department of Health and Human Services will freeze $10 billion in funding for multiple welfare programs in five blue states over fraud concerns. 
HHS will pause funding for programs that provide childcare and food assistance in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York as officials probe whether the benefits are being illegally funneled to non-citizens. The specific programs being halted in those states are the Child Care Development Fund, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the Social Services Block Grant program.
“Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/us/politics/child-care-funding-cuts-trump.html">said</a> HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon. “Under the Trump administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes.”
The states were notified of the pause in letters sent out by HHS on Monday. New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said that the impending freeze was motivated by politics. 
“Trump is threatening to freeze child care funding in New York and targeting our children for political retribution. It’s immoral and indefensible,” she wrote on X. 
The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) is a partnership program funded by the federal government and the states that provides financial assistance to low-income families to help them care for their children while they work or attend school. 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federally funded, state-administered <a href="https://www.usa.gov/welfare-benefits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">program</a> that provides cash assistance to low-income families for food, housing, home energy, and child care. 
The Social Services Block Grant is a program that provides funds to states, which they then allocate to various welfare programs. 
The freeze was first <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/01/05/us-news/trump-freezes-10b-in-funding-to-five-blue-states-for-child-care-social-services-over-fraud-fears/">reported</a> by the New York Post, which noted that the pause will impact $7.35 billion in TANF funds, $2.4 billion in CCDF funds, and $869 million in Social Services Block Grant funds. 
The Trump administration has recently increased scrutiny on states like Minnesota and California over alleged widespread fraud. Last week, HHS paused all childcare payments to the state of Minnesota while it investigates allegations that millions of taxpayer dollars have been funneled to fraudulent daycares across the state throughout the past ten years. 
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-fraud-investigation-has-begun-in-newsoms-california-more-corrupt-than-minnesota">said</a> investigations into California were beginning. 
“California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-fraud-investigation-has-begun-in-newsoms-california-more-corrupt-than-minnesota?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Says+Fraud+Investigation+%E2%80%98Has+Begun%E2%80%99+In+Newsom%E2%80%99s+California%3A+%E2%80%98More+Corrupt+Than+Minnesota%E2%80%99">Trump Says Fraud Investigation &#8216;Has Begun&#8217; In Newsom&#8217;s California: &#8220;More Corrupt Than Minnesota&#8217;</a>

UK Hosts President Trump And First Lady Melania Trump For State Visit – Day Three

Trump Admin Freezes Welfare Funds To Five Blue States Over Fraud Concerns

California

Department of Health and Human Services

Fraud

Illinois

Minnesota

New York

A Colorado hospital has been referred for a federal investigation over its “failure” to comply with standards on transgender medical procedures for children, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday. 
HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart <a href="https://x.com/HHSGCMikeStuart/status/2006110061114851333">said</a> that he had referred the Children’s Hospital Colorado to the department’s inspector general over its response to Trump administration guidance on transgender procedures for minors. The hospital has been engaged in a separate legal dispute with the Justice Department over data requested by the Trump administration related to its administration of such procedures. 
Stuart said he referred the hospital for “failure to meet recognized standards of health care” set forth by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a “declaration that sex-rejecting procedures for children and adolescents are neither safe nor effective.”
HHS “will always take every possible action to ensure children all across the nation are safe and protected,” Stuart added. 
The referral comes as the hospital seeks to quash a subpoena issued by the Justice Department in July demanding records concerning gender-related treatments, including insurance claims, billing records, internal guidance, any documents on alternative billing codes for gender dysphoria, and information on kids who were prescribed puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones. The subpoena was sent to more than 20 doctors and hospitals that performed transgender medical procedures on children.
The Justice Department is investigating “whether the promotion, marketing, labeling, sale, and distribution of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to treat gender dysphoria and related disorders could violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,” <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/31.pdf">according</a> to court documents. 
The hospital has so far refused to produce documents, stating that it will not release private medical information. 
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible c-link--underline" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Earlier this month, HHS <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-to-cut-funding-from-all-hospitals-that-perform-trans-procedures-on-kids">posted</a> rules that will bar hospitals that offer transgender procedures to minors from participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs. The rules will also prohibit federal funding of Medicaid’s Children’s Health Insurance Program from going toward transgender medical procedures on those under 19 years of age. 
“Sex-rejecting procedures for children and adolescents are neither safe nor effective as a treatment modality for gender dysphoria, gender incongruence, or other related disorders in minors, and therefore, fail to meet professional recognized standards of health care,” Kennedy <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/declaration-pediatric-sex-rejecting-procedures.pdf">wrote</a> in a public health declaration. 
Colorado is one of more than a dozen Democrat-led states <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-sue-trump-over-efforts-to-protect-children-from-trans-procedures?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=9&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Democrats+Sue+Trump+Over+Efforts+To+Protect+Children+From+Trans+Procedures">suing</a> to block HHS actions to cut off funding for hospitals that perform transgender medical procedures on kids. The suit alleges that HHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Medicare and Medicaid statutes by moving to cut hospital funding.

President Trump Makes Announcement On New Theories On Autism Causation In Children

Children’s Hospital Accused of Ignoring Trump Standards On Transgender Procedures For Kids

Department of Justice

transgender surgery

President Donald Trump vetoed legislation on Tuesday that would have sent infrastructure funding to a Florida-based American Indian tribe currently suing to shut down Alligator Alcatraz.
In one of the first vetoes of his second term, Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/12/congressional-bill-h-r-504-vetoed/">rejected</a> the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act, citing the tribe&#8217;s opposition to his immigration policies and the cost of the legislation. The bill would have expanded the portion of Everglades National Park reserved for the Miccosukee Tribe and required the Department of the Interior to provide anti-flooding infrastructure for the added land. 
“My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding projects for special interests, especially those that are unaligned with my Administration’s policy of removing violent criminal illegal aliens from the country,” Trump wrote in his veto message. “Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation.”
Earlier this year, the Miccosukee Tribe sued the Trump administration and the state of Florida over the opening of Alligator Alcatraz, an illegal immigrant detention center in the Everglades. In September, a federal appeals court rejected the tribe’s request for a preliminary injunction to shut down the facility. 
The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/504/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act</a> was passed earlier this year by unanimous consent in the Senate and by voice vote in the House. It was introduced by Florida Republican Carlos Gimenez. 
The measure would have expanded the Miccosukee Reserved Area to include an area known as the “Osceola Camp” and required the federal government to protect the land from flooding. According to Trump, the Miccosukee have already established a residential community at Osceola Camp.
The Biden administration developed a plan to invest up to $14 million in infrastructure in the area, but it never went into effect. 
“But despite seeking funding and special treatment from the Federal Government, the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected,” Trump wrote. This principle carries especially heavy weight here; it is not the Federal Government’s responsibility to pay to fix problems in an area that the Tribe has never been authorized to occupy.”  
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible c-link--underline" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Trump also <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/12/congressional-bill-h-r-131-vetoed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vetoed</a> a bill on Tuesday that would have continued federal funding for the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a pipeline intended to provide water to southeastern Colorado. Trump said that the project had become too expensive and was too local in scope. 
“Enough is enough,” Trump wrote. “My administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies. Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation.”
The two bills were Trump&#8217;s first vetoes of his second term.

President Trump Announces Aviation Safety Executive Orders In The Oval Office Of White House

Trump Vetoes Bill Benefiting Indian Tribe Suing To Shut Down Alligator Alcatraz

Donald Trump

Florida

For some states, getting men out of women&#8217;s sports has more hurdles to clear than a track meet.
Take Colorado, which allows transgender-identifying boys to compete in girls’ sports in the name of protecting people’s “sexual identity.&#8221;
But that could soon change.
Colorado School District 49, located just outside of Colorado Springs, is leading a coalition of seven other districts that are challenging the law. The districts filed suit in May against the Colorado Civil Rights Division, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Colorado Attorney General, and the Colorado High School Activities Association.
Last week, the Colorado High School Activities Association settled with the plaintiffs, a major victory for girls’ sports.
District 49 felt a lawsuit was necessary after it <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/co/d49/Board.nsf/files/DG6NV961B96D/$file/JBA-%20Preserving%20%20Fairness%20and%20Safety%20in%20Sports%20(1).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adopted rules</a> last year requiring all school sports teams to be divided by biological sex. District 49 Superintendent Peter Hilts, said he made clear rules on biology for his school district after he noticed more incidents of men trying to compete as women around the country. District 49 filed their lawsuit May 9, 2025, to protect the district from any penalties brought on by Colorado’s sports governing body.
&#8220;I would never want my daughters to compete against a boy; that would be unfair,&#8221; Hilts told The Daily Wire.
The settlement with the association takes the Colorado High School Activities Association out of the lawsuit ongoing in Colorado federal court, and gives the eight districts protection from the association.
The <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-wCHCb3a08XDl8FkBAtPeOuuccyWn9yv4oL7bUO-_7E/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.onkuqxh2a5uu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">association&#8217;s bylaws</a> state that &#8220;member schools shall ensure that all students have equal access and opportunities to participate in activities and athletics without unlawful discrimination based on disability, race, creed, color, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, national origin, or ancestry.&#8221;
&#8220;We didn&#8217;t want a state agency to sanction our coaches or our student-athletes for advocating privacy, fairness, and dignity.&#8221;
Hilts says the settlement is a win for common sense.
&#8220;Before the settlement, they would have to self-censor, or worry about what would happen if they spoke out about men competing in women’s sports,” Hilts said. “The association could have taken action against coaches. They could have said coaches and athletes were being unsportsmanlike. They could have banned teams from postseason play, and they could have disqualified athletes from championships.”
The Colorado High School Activities Association told The Daily Wire it has &#8220;has never penalized a school or district for its policies on this issue, nor has it dictated what those policies should be.&#8221;
“At no point before filing this lawsuit did the plaintiffs engage in any dialogue with CHSAA,” a spokesman told The Daily Wire. “No outreach was made to inquire about our policies, our procedures, or the steps we had already taken to support schools navigating these issues.”
“This litigation consumed time and resources without producing any change to how CHSAA operates,” the spokesman continued, adding that “The settlement alters nothing about our policies, our practices, or our authority.”
The lead attorney representing School District 49, Michael Francisco, told The Daily Wire he hopes this settlement will encourage other districts to adopt policies that protect the integrity of sport.
&#8220;To our mind, CHSAA’s decision to settle leaves it to Colorado districts as to whether they want to adopt a policy governing biological sex in sports like the plaintiff districts,&#8221; Francisco said.
Hilts hopes a victory in federal court will result in President Trump’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/keeping-men-out-of-womens-sports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> keeping men out of women’s sports being reflected in Colorado’s laws.
&#8220;We observed that under the Trump administration, the interpretation of Title IX created a contrast between state and federal law,” he said. “Colorado law gives precedence to gender identity, but Title IX was designed to give priority to biological sex. We think the state has been overly accommodating of the minority of individuals who want to compete outside their biological sex instead of protecting the thousands of other athletes.”
“We want the state to protect opportunities for all student-athletes,” he added. “Stop threatening and expecting school districts to defy common sense.&#8221;
Hilts said he is confident in the districts&#8217; case against the state to make Colorado a place where every athlete has a fair opportunity to compete.
&#8220;We would celebrate a ruling that the federal interpretation of Title IX is the correct interpretation. Common sense is girls should compete against girls and boys should compete against boys,&#8221; Hilts said.
The plaintiffs were back in federal court Monday to argue against the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case.  A decision on that motion is now pending.

Menu