DOJ Sues Maine For Refusing To Comply With Trump’s Trans Athlete Ban

The Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit against Maine over its refusal to comply with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes from high school sports, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced at a press conference on Wednesday. 

The lawsuit alleges that Maine is in violation of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination at schools that receive federal aid, by allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports. 

“We are going to continue to fight for women. What they have been through is horrific,” Bondi said, continuing to falsely label attacks on transgender women as “protecting” cisgender women.

The legal action comes after weeks of tension between Trump’s administration and Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. The two first clashed during a National Governors Association event at the White House on February 21. Trump threatened to revoke the state’s funding if Mills did not comply with his ban, to which she replied, “We’re going to follow the law,” adding, “See you in court.” 

Since then, Maine has been the subject of investigations by the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

“The state of Maine is discriminating against women by failing to protect women in women’s sports, pretty basic stuff,” Bondi remarked at the press conference. “We have exhausted every other remedy. We tried to get Maine to comply. We don’t like standing up here and filing lawsuits. We want to get states to comply with us.” 

Related: University Of Maine Complies With Trump’s Trans Athlete Ban

“We have repeatedly notified Maine about its infractions and urged them to remedy the situation to protect women. We stripped grants from Maine through other departments, and we are going to continue to fight for women,” Bondi continued. 

Governor Mills issued a statement Wednesday, pushing back on the lawsuit. “Today is the latest, expected salvo in an unprecedented campaign to pressure the State of Maine to ignore the Constitution and abandon the rule of law,” she wrote. “This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls, as has been claimed, it is about states rights and defending the rule of law against a federal government bent on imposing its will, instead of upholding the law.”

The Justice Department is seeking an injunction to get Maine to “stop what they are doing, pretty simple,” Bondi condescendingly noted, as well as “getting titles returned to the young women who rightfully won these sports.” She added that the department is also considering whether to retroactively pull all funding that Maine has received for not complying in the past.  

This lawsuit came just five days after the administration cut off Maine’s federal funding for public schools and school lunch programs for not complying with demands to ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports teams. Mills blasted the administration’s actions, saying, “Because there are two, maybe two, trans athletes competing in Maine schools right now, they decided to shut off funding for school nutrition programs, the school lunch program, entirely.” 

The tension between Gov. Janet Mills and Trump’s administration reflects a sharp turning point in transgender politics right now, as we continue to watch how state representatives navigate federal pressure and public opinion.