USDA freezes funding to Maine after ‘final warning' by Dept. of Education

The Trump administration froze some funding in Maine after the U.S. Department of Education has issued what it called a "final warning" to the state of Maine over Title IX compliance.

NEWS CENTER Maine reported Wednesday that the DOE had sent the letter over Maine's policy allowing transgender girls to compete in girls' high school sports. The agency says the state has violated the law.

Later Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it was "pausing federal funds for certain Maine educational programs."

"In order to continue to receive 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," Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins wrote in a letter to Gov. Janet Mills.

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education. It does not specifically address the issue of transgender athletes, but the Trump Administration has asserted that they should not be allowed to compete on teams aligning with their gender identity.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on the subject, mandating the federal government "review grants to education programs and, where appropriate, rescind funding to programs that fail to comply with the policy established in this order," which protects women "as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth."

The USDA said its pause on funding would not impact food programs or direct citizen assistance, writing in a press release that "if a child was fed today, they will be fed tomorrow."

Rollins said in her letter that the department had "launched a full review of grants awarded by the Biden Administration to the Maine Department of Education," claiming that "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," she wrote.

The federal government says Maine has until April 11 to sign a resolution of agreement or it will send the case to the Justice Department, which could result in the termination of federal funding for the state's education department. School officials previously said they would not comply with the agreement.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has already referred Maine to the Justice Department over the Title XI compliance.

The Trump administration's investigation into Maine schools led to a confrontation between the president and Gov. Janet Mills. At a White House reception earlier this year, he brought up the issue, telling Mills that the state had to comply or it won't get federal funding.

"We'll see you in court," Mills replied, leading Trump to say, "Good, I'll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one. And enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics."

Trump has demanded an apology from Mills, which she has not extended.