Donald Trump’s conflict with Maine governor Janet Mills over the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls and women’s scholastic sports is set to escalate further this week.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the administration is set to unveil legal action against Maine Wednesday amid the president’s feud with the state over transgender athletes.
The United States’ lawsuit comes just days after the administration tried to cut off all of Maine’s federal funding for public schools and its school lunch program over the issue.
A meeting in February, Trump, who campaigned on heavily on the topic of trans athletes in women’s sports, met with a group of US governors and clashed with Maine’s Democratic governor, Mills.
At the meeting, Trump threatened to withhold funding from Maine if the state refused to comply with an executive order he had signed barring transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
His threat prompted Mills to reply: ‘We’re going to follow the law, sir. We’ll see you in court.’
US Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to unveil legal action against Maine Wednesday
Donald Trump’s administration tried to cut off federal funding to the state over trans athletes
Trump frequently railed against transgender athletes while on the campaign trail. His executive order has been praised by supporters who say it will restore fairness, while critics say the directive infringes on the rights of a tiny minority of athletes.
Out of 510,000 athletes competing at the collegiate level, fewer than 10 publicly identify as transgender, NCAA President Charlie Baker said in January.
The US Department of Agriculture notified Maine on April 2 that it was freezing school lunch funding, citing violations of Title IX, which affords legal protections against sex discrimination.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins explained in a letter the decision stemmed from a disagreement between the state and federal governments over whether Maine was complying with Title IX.
Soon after the secretary’s letter was sent, Maine’s Department of Education could not access several sources of federal funds for a state nutrition program, according to the court’s written order.
But last week, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze funds intended for a Maine child nutrition program that were suspended.
The lawsuit, brought by state Attorney General Aaron Frey, states that the child nutrition program received or was due to receive more than $1.8 million for the current fiscal year.
Prior year funds that were awarded but are currently inaccessible total more than $900,000, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also says that the program was anticipating about $3 million that is typically awarded every July for summer meal program sponsor administration and meal reimbursement.
Democratic Governor Janet Mills has sparred with Trump over transgender athletes
Earlier this week, a school board in Hodgdon, Maine has voted unanimously to side with the President’s demands by ‘recognizing only two sexes – biological male and biological female and that all private spaces be separated by biological sex.’
As a result, MSAD #70 superintendent Tyler Putnam told Fox News he’s now required to ban trans athletes from girls’ sports in the heavily pro-Trump district abutting the Canadian border.
‘The motion directs me to rewrite our policies to adhere to the motion,’ Putnam told Fox. ‘It is my interpretation that the school board will be looking to approve policies that align biological sex to their specific athletic teams too i.e. biological males will be playing with only other biological males and same for biological females.
‘These policies will need to be approved by the policy committee and the board once rewritten.’
