On Wednesday, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) informed Maine that it froze the state's federal funding over their refusal to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order from early February banning boys and men from competing in girls' and women's sports. The Daily Wire reported on the update on Wednesday.
The notice came in a letter from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins:
In a letter first obtained by The Daily Wire, the USDA warned Maine, “you cannot openly violate federal law against discrimination in education and expect federal funding to continue unabated.”
“Your defiance of federal law has cost your state, which is bound by Title IX in educational programming,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. “Today, I am freezing Maine’s federal funds for certain administrative and technological functions in schools. 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.”
USDA is also reviewing all research and education-related funding in Maine to see if it is in compliance with the Constitution, federal law including Titles VI and IX, and the priorities of President Donald Trump’s administration, the USDA said.
“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,” Rollins wrote. “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.”
The pause will not impact federal feeding programs or direct assistance to Mainers, Rollins noted: “if a child was fed today, they will be fed tomorrow.”
“In addition, USDA has launched a full review of grants awarded by the Biden Administration to the Maine Department of Education,” she said. “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. We look forward to the State’s cooperation with all federal reviews and future compliance with federal law and policy.”
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The battle has been going on for months between Trump and Maine's Democratic governor, Janet Mills, with the Trump administration sending out several warnings and notices. At a White House event for governors in late February, Trump called the governor out personally for not complying, with each threatening the other about court battles.
It's not merely the governor who is being difficult. Maine Democrats in the state legislature also censured Republican Rep. Laurel Libby for daring to speak about the real-world consequences of boys competing in girls sports, including in her state. Maine Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat, deleted his X account after the backlash. Last month, Libby announced that she was filing a lawsuit as a result.
Libby released a statement in response to Wednesday's news as well. "Governor 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," she 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."
"You cannot openly violate federal law against discrimination in education and expect federal funding to continue unabated... Today, I am freezing Maine's federal funds for certain administrative and technological functions in schools." -Secretary Brooke Rollins…
— Rep. Laurel Libby (@laurel_libby) April 2, 2025
Thank you to Secretary Rollins and the Trump administration for standing up for Maine girls, and working to ensure them a fair, safe, and level playing field!
— Rep. Laurel Libby (@laurel_libby) April 2, 2025
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