California will not ban transgender athletes from competing in K-12 school sports or change its anti-discrimination policies to exclude them, becoming the second state after Maine to defy the Trump administration over the issue.

The US government sued California for allowing transgender students to participate in female sports, escalating a broad legal showdown between President Donald Trump’s administration and the Democratic-led state.

The Trump administration signaled that it would pursue enforcement actions against the state and previously threatened to cut federal education funds.