By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday was due to unveil legal action against Maine, in an escalation of President Donald Trump’s conflict with the state for refusing to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports.
The lawsuit comes five days after the administration tried to cut off all of Maine’s federal funding for public schools and its school lunch program over the issue, following a February 21 meeting of Trump and a group of U.S. governors where he clashed with Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills.
At the meeting, Trump threatened to withhold funding from Maine if the state refused to comply with an executive order he had signed barring transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
His threat prompted Mills to reply: “We’re going to follow the law, sir. We’ll see you in court.”
Trump frequently railed against transgender athletes while on the campaign trail. His executive order has been praised by supporters who say it will restore fairness, while critics say the directive infringes on the rights of a tiny minority of athletes.
Out of 510,000 athletes competing at the collegiate level, fewer than 10 publicly identify as transgender, NCAA President Charlie Baker said in January.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture notified Maine on April 2 that it was freezing school lunch funding, citing violations of Title IX, which affords legal protections against sex discrimination.
A U.S. District Court judge temporarily blocked the USDA from choking off funds after Maine sued the federal government. Earlier on April 2, the Department of Education announced it was cutting off the state’s $250 million in K-12 public education funds as part of an administrative proceeding.
The Department of Education also said it was referring the matter to the Justice Department for a possible enforcement action under Title IX.
Maine’s assistant attorney general, Sarah Forster, told the Department of Education in an April 11 letter that the state would not sign a proposed draft resolution or any revisions.
“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,” she wrote. “Your letters to date do not cite a single case that so holds.”
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone and Leslie Adler)
Comments