The Trump administration on Friday announced it would pull all federal education funding from Maine after state officials said they would not comply with demands from the administration to ban transgender athletes from participation in women’s sports, a dramatic escalation that could slash millions in federal funding from K-12 schools in the state.
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The move marks a major and retaliatory step forward in how far the administration is willing to go to force state governments to adhere to executive orders.
Last month, the U.S. Education Department began an investigation into a claim that the Maine Department of Education was in violation of Title IX — a civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs receiving federal assistance — by allowing a trans athlete to participate in women’s sports.
The U.S. Education Department’s “findings and proposed resolution agreement demonstrate to [the Maine Department of Education] and any other entity receiving federal funding that the Trump Administration will not tolerate unlawful discrimination against girls and women,” the federal agency said in a news release last month.
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In a Friday letter to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, Sarah Forster, the state assistant attorney general, said Maine would not sign the resolution agreement, writing that the state and the federal government were “at an impasse.”
“Nothing in Title IX or its implementing regulations prohibits schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate on girls’ and women’s sports teams,” Forster wrote.
“Your letters to date do not cite a single case that so holds. To the contrary, various federal courts have held that Title IX and/or the Equal Protection Clause require schools to allow such participation,” she added.
The move prompted a swift response from the Trump administration’s Department of Education, which promptly said it would cut all federal K-12 funding to Maine and refer its investigation into the state’s education agency to the Justice Department “for further enforcement action.”
“The Maine Department of Education will now have to defend its discriminatory practices before a Department administrative law judge and in a federal court against the Justice Department,” acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor said in a news release.
Danna Hayes, a spokeswoman for Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, declined to comment on the response from agency officials. The White House also did not respond to a request for comment.
Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.The move marks a major and retaliatory step forward in how far the administration is willing to go to force state governments to adhere to executive orders.
Last month, the U.S. Education Department began an investigation into a claim that the Maine Department of Education was in violation of Title IX — a civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs receiving federal assistance — by allowing a trans athlete to participate in women’s sports.
The U.S. Education Department’s “findings and proposed resolution agreement demonstrate to [the Maine Department of Education] and any other entity receiving federal funding that the Trump Administration will not tolerate unlawful discrimination against girls and women,” the federal agency said in a news release last month.
Follow Trump’s first 100 Days
In a Friday letter to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, Sarah Forster, the state assistant attorney general, said Maine would not sign the resolution agreement, writing that the state and the federal government were “at an impasse.”
“Nothing in Title IX or its implementing regulations prohibits schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate on girls’ and women’s sports teams,” Forster wrote.
“Your letters to date do not cite a single case that so holds. To the contrary, various federal courts have held that Title IX and/or the Equal Protection Clause require schools to allow such participation,” she added.
The move prompted a swift response from the Trump administration’s Department of Education, which promptly said it would cut all federal K-12 funding to Maine and refer its investigation into the state’s education agency to the Justice Department “for further enforcement action.”
“The Maine Department of Education will now have to defend its discriminatory practices before a Department administrative law judge and in a federal court against the Justice Department,” acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor said in a news release.
Danna Hayes, a spokeswoman for Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, declined to comment on the response from agency officials. The White House also did not respond to a request for comment.
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