Walz administration paid $449,000 in taxpayer money to nonprofit that sued to place first transgender inmate in Minnesota women’s prison

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s administration has given nearly $449,000 in taxpayer money to a left-leaning legal nonprofit as part of an apparent “sue and settlement” plan that placed the first transgender inmate in a women’s prison in the state, The Post can exclusively reveal.

In 2023, the Democratic vice presidential nominee’s office paid $448,904 to Saint Paul-based Gender Justice, a year after the nonprofit filed a sex discrimination complaint against the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC), according to a review of public records shared with The Post by the taxpayer watchdog group OpenTheBooks.com.

The complaint alleged that the DOC discriminated by housing transgender inmate Christina Lusk in a men’s prison and denying her access to gender reassignment procedures, including vaginoplasty.

Lusk had undergone hormone therapy and genital reconstructive surgery before being arrested in December 2018 and charged with possession of methamphetamine, receiving a five-year prison sentence.

At the time, Lusk was already on parole following a 2012 drunken driving conviction.

The lawsuit ended with a massive $495,000 settlement awarded in May 2023, which awarded Lusk $245,903 in cash and Gender Justice $198,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs.

Lusk was ordered to be transferred to a women’s facility in Shakopee, southwest of Minneapolis, and promised a full refund pending a medical evaluation and approval from a health insurance provider for the vaginoplasty and “breast revision” procedures — even after Lusk’s incarceration period ends if necessary, according to the settlement.

On January 31, Lusk was released from state custody and placed under house arrest.

Gender Justice had received just $1,500 from the Minnesota government in 2022, the year before this unprecedented litigation began.

It’s unclear how much additional funding — outside of the settlement — the Walz administration also provided to the nonprofit, but OpenTheBooks believes the facts indicate that the case itself is a suit-and-settlement proceeding, where closed-door legal arbitration is used to change public policy without legislative approval.

Attorneys at Minneapolis-based Robins Kaplan LLP, which partnered with Gender Justice on the lawsuit and was awarded $51,096 in fees, donated more than $22,000 to Walz’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign, according to state campaign finance records.

A treasurer on the Gender Justice board is also responsible for adult mental health programs and services at the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

“In this case, we have a nonprofit with ties to the administration and a law firm that made five-figure donations to the Walz campaign on the same side of the table, across from the Department of Corrections,” said Christopher Neefus, a spokesman for OpenTheBooks.

“It’s a closed circle of interests. By simply following the money in the government’s checkbook, we were able to give taxpayers a much more detailed picture of these negotiations,” he added.

“What remains to be seen is how much of Gender Justice’s public funds go to funding grants to support operations versus legal fees. The State of Minnesota does not include spending categories or targets in its line-by-line expenditures, and it owes the taxpayer much more transparency.”

The Post has reached out to Walz’s office, the Minnesota Department of Corrections and Gender Justice, for comment.

The nonprofit said it was “proud and honored” earlier this year to be one of several groups invited to the South Lawn of the White House for a Pride Month celebration.

Although the money trail may be murky, the outcome of the case is clear.

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standards of care will now be the standard in Minnesota for treating inmates with gender dysphoria — and taxpayers will have to foot the bill.

In late 2021, the Biden administration successfully pressured WPATH to adopt transgender treatment guidelines that lowered the age limits for minors seeking gender reassignment surgery.

An explosive report published in March by independent journalist Michael Shellenberger also blew the lid on WPATH, downplaying the dangers of gender reassignment, including bone density loss and infertility.

Many Western European countries have already banned these procedures and associated hormone therapies for minors, but the U.S. government still relies on WPATH to establish guidelines for treating gender dysphoria.

“Public opinion on transgender issues is very mixed, but the controversy surrounding WPATH has only grown more heated in recent times,” Neefus said. “Compliance with their standards of care is a decision that taxpayers should know and understand.”

The Minnesota Department of Corrections and “facility gender identity committees will respond expeditiously to requests from incarcerated individuals,” according to other policy revisions in the agreement, and inmates will be able to change their legal names whenever they want.

The changes align with an executive order Walz signed in March 2023 enshrining the right of all Minnesotans to receive “gender-affirming care,” a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections told the Star Tribune following Lusk’s settlement.

Republicans and social conservatives seized on the order — along with a law placing menstrual products in boys’ bathrooms in public schools — to attack Walz as a radical on LGBT issues, giving him the nickname “Tampon Tim.”

This characterization conflicts with the public image he has cultivated as a “popular” Midwesterner with humble roots, a high school teacher and assistant football coach with a passion for hunting.

Vice President Kamala Harris selected Walz to join her on the November ballot, just weeks after President Biden suspended his reelection campaign on July 21, prompting a series of unfavorable stories about his embellishments of his military service record and mismanagement of state funds as governor.

Neither Harris nor Walz referenced their respective administrations’ record on LGBT issues during their speeches at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month — nor did they promise to protect or advance the rights of “gay” or “transgender” Americans.

The Harris-Walz campaign did not respond to a request for comment.