Trump Admin Cuts State Off from Federal Funds After Refusal to Follow Executive Order
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has halted certain federal funds to schools in Maine due to the state's policy allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports.
In a stark reversal from the Biden administration, the Trump administration has determined that Title IX mandates participation in women’s sports be limited to biological females.
Maine has remained steadfast in its commitment to the Maine Human Rights Act, which upholds the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports, despite being informed that federal law takes precedence over state legislation, as reported by The Hill.
“You cannot openly violate federal law against discrimination in education and expect federal funding to continue unabated,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated in a letter addressed to Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills.
“Your defiance of federal law has cost your state, which is bound by Title IX in educational programming. Today, I am freezing Maine’s federal funds for certain administrative and technological functions in schools,” Rollins wrote.
“This is only the beginning, though you are free to end it at any time by protecting women and girls in compliance with federal law.”
Rollins further stated that her department “is additionally reviewing all research and education-related funding in Maine for compliance with the Constitution, federal laws including Titles VI and IX, and the priorities of the Trump Administration.”
“To continue receiving taxpayer dollars from USDA, the state of Maine must demonstrate compliance with Title IX’s protection of female student-athletes from having to compete with or against or having to appear unclothed before males,” Rollins continued.
The letter emphasized that unless Title IX is properly enforced, further funding evaluations and potential terminations will proceed.
Rollins dismissed concerns over the financial freeze, clarifying, “This pause does not impact federal feeding programs or direct assistance to Mainers; if a child was fed today, they will be fed tomorrow.”
Additionally, the USDA is reviewing grants awarded to Maine’s Department of Education under the Biden administration, Rollins explained.
“Many of these grants appear to be wasteful, redundant, or otherwise against the priorities of the Trump Administration. USDA will not extend the Biden Administration’s bloated bureaucracy and will instead focus on a Department that is farmer-first and without a leftist social agenda,” the letter stated.
As Fox News previously noted, the USDA had temporarily suspended funding for Maine’s public universities while it assessed Title IX compliance.
Other federal agencies are also scrutinizing Maine’s decision not to comply with Title IX, which could result in further funding cuts.
Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby, who initially brought attention to Maine’s stance on transgender policies, criticized the state’s Democratic leadership for prioritizing ideology over fairness for women.
“Gov. Janet Mills and Maine Democrats have chosen to dig their heels in and embrace radical left-wing ideology over the safety and rights of Maine women and girls. Despite repeated warnings from President Trump, Maine Democrats continued to defy federal law, forcing Maine girls to unfairly compete against biological males,” Libby said.
“As a result, Maine’s Democrat majority has poised Maine students to lose hundreds of millions in federal funding, starting with our USDA funding, instead of championing Maine girls by adhering to federal law. I continue to stand firmly with Maine girls and President Trump in the pursuit of sanity and fairness. I implore Maine Democrats to abandon this incredibly harmful and radical gender ideology for the sake of our students.”