Elon Musk wades into Virginia transgender bathroom clash, says Dem gov candidate wrongly 'blaming' Trump

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Elon Musk amplified a post from Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, weighing in as transgender bathroom policies again take center stage in the state's off-year election.

Musk alleged Spanberger "tr[ied] to weasel out" of a question from ABC Washington reporter Nick Minock about whether the former congresswoman supports biological males using women's locker rooms as the Department of Education scrutinizes five major school districts.

"Spanberger obviously does shamefully support boys in girl's sports and is trying to weasel out of the question by blaming the president," Musk said, retweeting Spanberger's response to Minock - who encountered her after she visited an early-voting poll.

Minock mentioned the Trump administration is investigating potential Title IX violations in allowing students to use their desired restroom or changing facility, for which Fairfax, Loudoun, Arlington, Alexandria and Prince William County schools under scrutiny. 

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Spanberger replied that court cases brought on the matter of transgender students' restroom use have already played out, including the case of Gavin Grimm, a transgender student who challenged the local school's bathroom policy in Grim v. Gloucester County School Board, arguing it violated equal protection and Title IX.

In that case, the Richmond-based Fourth Circuit upheld a lower court's judgment against the school district and ruled its biologically-based restroom policy led to discrimination against Grimm.

"In fact, the argument is the assessment is there needs to be much clearer guidance in terms of what is an executive order's binding assessment of Title IX versus what has been a decision of a court," Spanberger said.

"But ultimately, the real impact here is, once again, it is the Trump administration taking dollars away from Virginia. Threatening education dollars to our public schools is an attack on Virginia's kids. It's an attack on our economy. It's an attack on Virginians."

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Spanberger said her priority is making Virginia schools the best in the country and painted President Donald Trump as an official who is "coming after Virginia."

When Minock asked again whether Spanberger specifically supported such policies, she did not respond.

However, in comments to Fox News Digital, a Spanberger spokesperson rebuffed Musk, saying the Democratic nominee is a mother of three Virginia public schoolchildren and a former federal law enforcement officer who investigated child predators.

"Nothing is more important to her than the safety of all of Virginia's kids," the spokesperson said.

"Ultimately, Abigail believes that these are decisions between parents and local schools - and she believes that politicians need to stop politicizing Virginia's public schools."

Fox News Digital also reached out to Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears - the Republican nominee for governor - for comment.

In 2021, the issue of transgender bathroom policy in schools loomed large in the gubernatorial election. Current Gov. Glenn Youngkin was credited with pulling off an upset win against former Gov. Terry McAuliffe by making the overarching issue of "parental rights" front-and-center in the campaign.

Many of the individual cases affected schools in heavily-Democratic areas like Loudoun County, where McAuliffe still won, but Youngkin mildly increased expected margins. A case in Loudoun involving a transgender student allegedly assaulting another student also made headlines during the campaign.

At present-day, the issue - as well as Washington, D.C.-metro school systems like those mentioned are again front-and-center.

Earle-Sears has called for requiring students to use the restroom assigned to their biological sex as "common sense," and recently appeared alongside demonstrators outside a Loudoun school board meeting in Ashburn earlier this month.

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Appearing at an Arlington school board meeting, where a protester held up a sign telling Earle-Sears - who is Black - she should not share her water fountain if people can't share bathrooms, the Republican said the continuing trend is "dangerous, insane and has to stop."

"Here's the truth. There are two sexes: boys and girls."

Musk's former DOGE counterpart, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, headlined a rally on Friday to endorse Earle-Sears, lieutenant governor candidate John Reid and Attorney General Jason Miyares.

Reid, who approached and embraced Spanberger at her recent appearance in Henrico, highlighted Musk's comments and said both sides of the aisle "can and should be polite to each other - but also must clearly highlight the differences between the candidates…"

"Abigail Spanberger is dodging the trans in the girls locker room issues because she's smart enough to know it's a big loser for her," Reid said.

"No boys in girls' sports. No boys in girls' locker rooms and vice versa. No medical engagement with minors without parental consultation and consent. No underage surgical or hormonal procedures on anyone," Reid said.

"We should do our best to let adults make their own decisions as long as they fully own the costs and consequences."