President Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) began freezing federal funds to Maine on Wednesday because of Democrat Gov. Janet Mills’s refusal to bar transgender-identifying boys from competing in girls’ sports.
The USDA paused distribution of funds after sending multiple requests to Mills urging her to comply with President Trump’s executive order barring males from female sports teams and Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities receiving federal funding, the Washington Examiner reported.
In a letter to Mills, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she is halting federal funds to the state “for certain administrative and technological functions in schools.”
“You cannot openly violate federal law against discrimination in education and expect federal funding to continue unabated,” Rollins said in the letter. “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 did not state which program funds are being paused or a specific amount, but she said the freeze would end immediately if Mills complies with federal law, according to the report.
“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 wrote.
Rollins said the USDA is additionally reviewing all research and education-related funding in the state for compliance with the Constitution, federal laws, and the Trump administration
“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,” the letter reads.
“USDA, alongside other federal agencies, will continue to pause and, where appropriate, terminate categories of education programming in Maine if these Title IX violations are not resolved to the satisfaction of the Federal Government,” she added. “This pause does not impact federal feeding programs or direct assistance to Mainers; if a child was fed today, they will be fed tomorrow.”
The USDA has also launched a full review of grants from the Biden administration to the Maine Department of Education, with Rollins stating 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,” Rollins wrote.
President Trump’s executive order on “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports” was created to protect female student athletes from having “to compete with or against or having to appear unclothed before males.” The order also mandates each federal department to “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.”
Following Trump’s order, Maine officials publicly said they would not comply, siding with transgender-identifying males over women and girls and citing state law allowing students to play on teams that match their “gender identity.”
Then a transgender-identifying boy claimed the victory in the Maine Class B championship for the Greely High School girls’ track and field team in February.
MUST WATCH: President Trump just decimated Maine’s lawless Governor Janet T. Mills right to her face for refusing to stop men in women’s sports:
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 21, 2025
“Good. See you in court… enjoy your life after governor. I don’t think you’ll be in elected office.”
🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/k77nTbpAIn
President Trump and Gov. Mills had a public spat on Feb. 20, in which he said at the Republican Governor’s Association dinner that Maine is at risk of losing federal funding if the state continues to allow males to play on female sports teams.
“We are the federal law. You better do it, because you’re not gonna get any federal funding if you don’t… your population also doesn’t want men in women’s sports,” Trump said. “You better comply, or you’re not getting any federal funding.
“See you in court,” Mills replied.
“Good. See you in court, that should be a real easy one,” Trump fired back. “Enjoy your life after, governor, I don’t think you’ll be in elected office.”
Mills and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey have pledged to fight back against Trump.
Both the Department of Education (DoE) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) subsequently launched investigations into the state and ultimately found the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) and other entities in violation of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities receiving federal funding.
On Monday, the DoE sent a letter to the MDOE advising that the sate has until April 11 to meet President Trump’s executive order, which called to “re-write federal Title IX education rules to withhold federal funds from schools that allow transgender athletes to play as females.”
“The Maine Department of Education’s indifference to its past, current, and future female athletes is astonishing. By refusing to comply with Title IX, MDOE allows—indeed, encourages—male competitors to threaten the safety of female athletes, wrongfully obtain girls’ hard-earned accolades, and deny females equal opportunity in educational activities to which they are guaranteed under Title IX,” the letter read.
“Under prior administrations, enforcement was an illusory proposition. No more. The Trump-McMahon Education Department is moving quickly to ensure that federal funds no longer support patently illegal practices that harm women and girls,” it added.
Maine officials have consistently claimed that they are complying with state law, the Maine Human Rights Act, over federal law. The Maine Human Rights Act contains protections for “gender identity,” an element which Maine Republicans want to strip as the debate over transgender-identifying athletes continues.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
