Retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz told SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Show on Wednesday that he believes the U.S. Supreme Court would likely be compelled to uphold President Donald Trump’s order if he moves forward with withholding federal funds from California.
Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday to criticize Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom for allowing biological males to compete in the upcoming girls’ state finals. He warned that federal funding could be withheld as a result.
The controversy centers on 16-year-old AB Hernandez, a biological male who identifies as a transgender girl and has been permitted to compete against female athletes in a high school championship. During the show, Kelly asked Dershowitz for his legal take on Trump’s threat.
“So you think he can get away with the threat, but can he withdraw federal funds? Is that OK, and is this just empty words to the attempt to direct local authorities not to allow it this weekend at the state championships?” Kelly asked.
“I think ultimately the Supreme Court is going to have to uphold the withholding of federal funds from states and other institutions that violate federal law. It has nothing to do [with the] particular case. It has to do with the dominance of the Supremacy Clause,” Dershowitz said. “Without the Supremacy Clause, you couldn’t have the United States of America. There would be the Confederate States.”
Hernandez, a junior on the Jurupa Valley High School track and field team, competed in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Track and Field meet this past Saturday and Sunday. The student is currently ranked as the top athlete in the state in the triple jump and second in the long jump, according to Patch.
“The difference is that where the federal law and the state laws conflict, the federal law will reign supreme,” Kelly said.
“In supreme, otherwise we’re back to the Articles of Confederacy, and that didn’t work. So some of us may not like the way it’s being used, and in my family too we fight like children about transgender athletes,” Dershowitz added.
“There are many points of view on that, and it seems to me that President Trump ran on that theory and the majority of Americans support it, and the law seems to support it,” Dershowitz said.
“So whatever you think of the policies, I think we’re going to see ultimately the Supreme Court upholding most of these Trump initiatives but demanding that they be done with due process,” he added.
