Trump Admin Pauses Federal Funding to Maine for Allowing Biological Males to Compete in Women’s Sports
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Wednesday that it is pausing federal funding for Maine and will review its allocations to the state after officials refused to comply with an executive order barring transgender-identifying biological men from competing in women’s sports.
USDA Secretary Brooks Rollins stated that Maine must adhere to the order, which is designed to protect female athletes, in order to have its funding restored. Maine Governor Janet Mills has previously vowed to not comply with the order.
In a letter to the state, Rollins explained that “In order to continue to receive taxpayer dollars from USDA, the state of Maine must demonstrate compliance with Title IX which protects female student athletes from having to compete with or against or having to appear unclothed before males.”
Rollins added that USDA has launched a “full review” of grants awarded by the Biden Administration to the Maine Department of Education.
“Many of these grants appear to be wasteful, redundant, or otherwise against the priorities of the Trump Administration. USDA will not stand for 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.
In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning biological men from competing in women’s sports. On February 20, he warned Maine in a speech that federal funding would be cut if the state refused to comply.
The US Department of Education gave the Maine Department of Education a final deadline of April 11 to address the matter or risk another referral to the Department of Justice. The Department of Health and Human Services already referred Maine to the DOJ, according to a report by Fox News.
