Connecticut leaders are promising to fight President Donald Trump’s new executive order banning transgender girls from school sports.

On Thursday, the NCAA banned trans women from college athletics.

The state is already at the forefront of the national debate, thanks to a pending lawsuit that has gained national attention.

That lawsuit was filed by Alanna Smith, a former Danbury High track star, and three other women. They want a judge to overturn Connecticut’s policy allowing trans athletes to compete under their chosen gender.

The policy stems from state anti-discrimination law.

“It’s unfair and it doesn't allow for a level playing field,” Smith told News 12 Connecticut in Sept. 2022. “I walked away with a bronze medal instead of a silver medal because the first-place medal went to a biological male.”

But Chris Mosier, world-champion triathlete who was born female but later transitioned to a male, said there is a lot of misinformation about the biology of trans athletes.

“That people assigned male at birth are bigger, faster, stronger and better athletes. And we know that that's not true. Not every person assigned male at birth is a good athlete,” said Mosier. “There’s no evidence that trans athletes have an advantage over anyone else in sports.”

Smith is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group.

Two courts dismissed the lawsuit because the plaintiffs were no longer in high school. But an appeals court revived the case in 2023, ruling that the women do have standing because they might qualify for monetary damages. In November, a federal judge refused to dismiss the suit.

Trump’s new order is raising even more questions for Connecticut. It orders schools to ban trans girls from playing sports or lose their federal funding.

“With this executive order, the war on women's sports is over,” Trump said on Wednesday. “If you let men take over women's sports teams or invade your locker rooms you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding. There will be no federal funding.”

The impact on Connecticut isn't clear.

Trump’s order conflicts with state law, which lists “gender identity or expression” as a protected class. Former Gov. Dannel Malloy signed the law in 2011.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which governs school sports across the state, said it is still reviewing Trump’s order.

“The CIAC, with its legal counsel, is reviewing President Trump’s executive orders concerning transgender athletes, the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights’ new Dear Colleague Letter, and Attorney General Tong’s statement on the executive orders,” the conference said in a statement. “The CIAC has consistently held that its transgender participation policy aligns with federal and state law. CIAC and its legal counsel will continue to monitor and review all executive orders, federal guidance, state statutes, and state agency guidance to ensure its policies remain aligned with applicable law.”

Colleges like UConn could see an immediate impact.

On Thursday, the NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes in college, limiting competition in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth only. The change is effective immediately and applies to all athletes regardless of previous eligibility reviews.

Last year, Republican lawmakers in Hartford unsuccessfully pushed for similar legislation.

Another executive action is aimed at doctors and hospitals.

Earlier this week, Nuvance Health announced that it “has suspended gender-affirming medication and gender-affirming surgical procedures for individuals under 19 years old in response to a White House order."

On this week's “Power and Politics,” state Attorney General William Tong said Connecticut will fight both orders.

“We care about all people and all kids here,” he told host Mark Sudol. “I’m going to push back on any attempts to cut funding that provides health care to anybody, including people who are trans and are receiving treatment … We have strong protections. we were one of the first states in the union to stand up and say we love and we care for and we protect everybody, including our trans kids.”

Catch the full interview on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on News 12 Connecticut.