The coalition is led by Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and includes 16 states and the District of Columbia. The complaint was filed Friday in the US District Court in Oregon.

In August, the Administration for Children and Families, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, warned 40 states and six territories to remove references to gender ideology from the educational materials of the federally funded Personal Responsibility Education Program, also known as PREP, which instructs teens to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The agency gave the states 60 days to remove references or risk losing federal funding.

"The federal government's far-reaching efforts to erase people who don't fit one of two gender labels is illegal and wrong—and would deny services to millions more in the process," Brown said in a public statement. "These young people are treated equally under Washington state and federal laws, and we intend to make sure of it."

In August, the Administration for Children and Families terminated the PREP grant to California when the state did not remove the gender ideology from the education material.

"Accountability is coming," HHS Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison said in public statement in August after the warning letter to the states and territories. "Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas. The Trump administration will ensure that PREP reflects the intent of Congress, not the priorities of the Left."

Joining Washington, Oregon, and Minnesota in the coalition suing the Trump administration are Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

The complaint alleges the administration's gender policy would mean a loss of $35 million in federal funding for the 16 plaintiff states and Washington, DC, if they keep teaching gender ideology. The plaintiff states also contend the administration's move violates the federal Administrative Procedure Act and violates the intent of Congress in creating the grant program. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Fred Lucas is chief news correspondent and manager of the Investigative Reporting Project for The Daily Signal. He is the author of "The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections."

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

More Than 100 Farmers Step Up to Harvest Fields for Father Diagnosed With ALS

WATCH: Veteran and Family Given Home after Losing Everything to Hurricane Ian

Jonathan Keller: I Was Wrong About Charlie Kirk

From the Sidelines to the Senate: Finebaum Might Suit Up for Politics

Democrat Attorneys-General Sue to Keep Taxpayer Funding for Gender Ideology in Schools

Pregnant Liberal Woman Suffers Fatal Tylenol Overdose after Trying to 'Prove Trump Wrong,' Now Allegedly on Ventilator Fighting for Her Life: REPORT

Fetterman Denounces Dems' 'Extreme Rhetoric'

'Historic Day': Trump Reveals Plan to End Gaza War, and See Return of Hostages; Will Hamas Accept?

Tim Allen Freed from Unforgiveness After Seeing Erika Kirk Forgive Charlie’s Killer: ‘That Moment Deeply Affected Me’

Crucial White House Meeting: Netanyahu and President Trump May Determine Fate of Hostages and End of War

Three in Four Mayors Want MORE Federal Help Combating Crime in Their Cities

Dearborn Residents Clash With City Council over Mosque's Early Morning Call to Prayer

Eric Adams Drops Out of NYC Mayor’s Race

4 People Killed in Shooting at Mormon Church in Michigan on Sunday, Building Torched

Give Him 15: Mercy is Our New Currency

A Little Baby Girl Is Rescued from a Dumpster in Texas. A Dumpster

Nonprofit Asks Feds to Investigate Schools' 'Gender-Affirming Care' Practices

Latest Move by the President to Prevent a Government Shutdown Is Brilliant

Trump Closes Loophole Allowing Illegal Aliens to Drive Commercial Trucks After Tragic Accidents

Trump's Administration Finds 25,000 Missing Migrant Children