State department officials around the world have been ordered to bar transgender athletes from visiting the U.S. for sporting competitions.

The U.S. Justice Department says it "stands ready to sue" Minnesota and two other states that are defying President Trump's executive order earlier this month that bans transgender girls and women from competing in sports consistent with their gender identity.

President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to strip Maine of its federal funding if it refuses to comply with his executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports, marking the White House’s latest front in the nation’s culture wars.