The Trump administration is investigating Maine for allegedly allowing men to continue participating in women’s sports after President Donald Trump sparred with Maine’s Democratic Governor Janet Mills over his executive order barring men who claim to be transgender from competing against women.
The U.S. Department of Education notified Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin that its office of civil rights is launching an investigation into whether Maine is violating federal anti-discrimination law for allowing males to compete against females and use women’s restrooms.
“Maine would have you believe that it has no choice in how it treats women and girls in athletics—that is, that it must follow its state laws and allow male athletes to compete against women and girls,” said acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor.
“Let me be clear: If Maine wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Education Department, it has to follow Title IX. If it wants to forgo federal funds and continue to trample the rights of its young female athletes, that, too, is its choice. OCR will do everything in its power to ensure taxpayers are not funding blatant civil rights violators.”
The Education Department is also investigating Maine’s 51st school district over allegations that a high school under its jurisdiction continues allowing a male to compete against girls. State anti-discrimination laws do not override federal regulations, prompting the civil rights investigation into Maine’s policy.
The swift action follows Trump’s back-and-forth with Mills over his executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” that invokes Title IX in determining that men being allowed to play against women unfairly denies women the equal opportunity to participate in sports. Trump’s executive action also dictates that the federal government will withhold funding if they allow males to play women’s sports.
In keeping with his executive order, Trump warned Mills that her state will lose federal funding if it does not comply with Trump’s directive.
“We are the federal law. You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t,” Trump said Thursday at a gathering of Republican governors in Washington.
“Your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports. You better comply because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding.”
Mills replied that she will see Trump in court as her state openly resists federal law. Maine’s high school sports governing body is continuing to abide by state law regarding athletic eligibility, defying Trump’s order.
The Education Department has launched similar investigations into California’s and Minnesota’s high school sports associations for refusing to adhere to Trump’s directive in violation of Title IX.
Trump’s executive action prompted the National Collegiate Athletic Association to update its policy to limit women’s sports participation solely to female athletes in compliance with federal law. The NCAA came under heavy scrutiny in 2022 when it allowed University of Pennsylvania male swimmer William Thomas, known as Lia, to compete against women and use female locker rooms after previously being a member of the school’s men’s team.