Politics
NEW: Trump Cuts Funding To Maine’s Universities After Governor Defies Executive Order
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is pausing funding to the University of Maine System (UMS), a network of eight public colleges in the state, UMS officials confirmed Tuesday. The pause comes just a few weeks after Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, refused to comply with a recent executive order that bars transgender-identifying men from competing in women’s sports at any school or institution that receives federal funding.
Less than two weeks after being sworn in on January 20, President Trump signed an executive order that barred biological males from competing in women’s and girls’ sports. The order reinforced the president’s broader policy stance that gender is based on biological sex at birth, not identity. This follows another sweeping executive order signed back in January, which mandated federal agencies to define sex strictly as male or female across government documentation, including passports and federal prison assignments.
Funding will paused while the USDA reviews potential Title IX and Title VI violations by the universities in question and comes just days after Trump vowed to take action against states that defy the order during his Congressional address on March 4.
On Tuesday, UMS confirmed that funding to eight Maine universities would be paused as a result of the state’s decision to defy the order. “An email forwarded to the University of Maine that appears to have originated from the USDA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer directs the department’s ‘awarding agencies and staff offices to temporarily no longer issue any payments or authorize any other releases of funding to Columbia University or the University of Maine System,'” a spokesperson for UMS told Fox News.
“The message goes on to state, ‘This pause is temporary in nature while USDA evaluates if it should take any follow-on actions related to prospective Title VI or Title IX violations. Please take any necessary actions to effectuate this direction from leadership. This pause will remain in effect until further notice.'”
Maine Governor Janet Mills vowed to defy the order and said Maine would be taking the Trump Administration to court
The UMS spokesperson claimed that all state universities were “in compliance with relevant state and federal laws and that UMS universities are members of the NCAA,” adding that they were “unaware” of any Title IX violations.
In the fiscal year 2024, the USDA provided UMS with $29.78 million in funding for research, the university system reported. The USDA claims it has provided more than $100 million to the UMS over the last several years in a letter addressed to the system.
The NCAA also amended its gender eligibility policy to prohibit any biologically male athlete from competing in women’s sports.
President Trump initially vowed to halt federal funding to Maine’s universities if the state continued to allow men to compete in women’s sports while meeting with Republican governors on February 20. One day letter, Governor Mills’ office threatened legal action against the Trump Administration if any federal funds were withheld.
The following day, Trump and Mills were involved in a verbal altercation at the White House during a bipartisan governor’s meeting at the White House. “You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t. And by the way, your population, even though it’s somewhat liberal, although I did very well there, your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports,” Trump told the governor.
After the president once again reiterated that federal funds will be withheld if Maine continues to defy his order, Mills responded by saying, “we’ll see you in court.”
Just hours after the altercation, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would be investigating the state for allowing biological males to compete in women’s and girl’s sports, in addition to potential Title IX violations.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has already determined that Maine is in violation of Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to compete and has made a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice.
