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maine
'Vindictive': Trump USDA Freezes $100 Million for University of Maine Amid Trans Athlete Fight
"This administration is targeting our state for retribution," said Rep. Chellie Pingree, "all because our elected officials are standing up for the rule of law."
Mar 11, 2025
The Trump administration on Tuesday appeared to step up its clash with Maine's Democratic-led government over the state's support for transgender women who play on women's sports teams, as the University of Maine announced $100 million in its federal funding had been halted.
The university system said the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding was being temporarily paused while the Trump administration investigates whether the University of Maine System (UMS) is violating Title VI or Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibit discrimination based on race or national origin and sex, respectively.
The USDA began a review of UMS compliance with the Civil Rights Act in February, a day after Gov. Janet Mills told President Donald Trump at a White House event that she was prepared to defend Maine's decision to continue allowing transgender students to play on girl's and women's sports teams.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) updated its policies to comply with Trump's executive order requiring the Department of Education to notify school districts that allowing transgender students to compete on women's teams violates Title IX.
"If all of their funding was removed from USDA, that would have a really big impact on farmers on the ground here."
But Mills told Trump that she will "comply with state and federal law." In 2021, Maine's state laws were updated to allow student athletes to compete on teams that correspond to their identity as long as there are no safety concerns.
Since the USDA opened its review of UMS policies, the university system has confirmed to the department that its athletic programs are in compliance with state and federal laws and that its schools that are part of the NCAA are following the association's recently updated policies.
UMS said in a statement Tuesday that after notifying the USDA of its compliance on February 26, it did not hear from the department until the notice of the funding pause was sent on March 10, with the USDA accusing the university of "blatant disregard" for Trump's executive order.
The agency said last month that UMS "receives over $100 million in USDA funding."
UMS said Tuesday that it has received funding from federal agencies including the USDA since its founding in 1865, with the USDA awarding $29.78 million in 2024 for research benefiting the largely rural state.
UMS has used its current USDA funding to invest in numerous projects, including but not limited to:
- Research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals, on Maine farms;
- The development of sustainable packaging materials derived from Maine's forests;
- Research on the health and sustainability of the state's lobster fishery;
- Support for 4-H youth leadership and STEM skill development programs serving tens of thousands of Maine youth annually; and
- Education and outreach to Maine livestock farmers on farm biosecurity and disease outbreak preparedness.
"If all of their funding was removed from USDA, that would have a really big impact on farmers on the ground here," Sarah Alexander, executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, toldReuters last month after the agency launched its review of UMS.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) denounced the USDA's "vindictive" funding pause, noting that the agency "shared no findings, and offered no opportunity for a hearing."
"It fails to provide any sort of timeline or opportunities for recourse," she said in a statement posted on social media. "Let's be clear about what this latest funding freeze will do: It will hurt farmers and rural Mainers, it will halt critically-needed research innovation, and it will slash educational opportunities for students throughout Maine. Once again, it appears as though this administration is targeting our state for retribution—all because our elected officials are standing up for the rule of law."
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After Outrage, Trump Admin Backtracks on Requiring Maine Parents to Register Babies at Social Security Office
The Social Security Administration abruptly canceled contracts that allowed new parents in the state to sign up their babies for Social Security numbers at the hospital, but on Friday reinstated those contracts.
Mar 07, 2025
The Social Security Administration briefly required parents in Maine to register their newborns for a Social Security number at a Social Security office, instead of checking a box on a form at the hospital, before reversing course on the directive on Friday.
The initial move was panned as burdensome and potentially dangerous—and some observers speculated that it could have been a form of retaliation against Maine's Democratic governor, who last month had a public confrontation with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"It makes absolutely no sense to me at all to do this," Dr. Joe Anderson, advocacy chair of the Maine chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Portland Press Herald on Thursday. "I see no logical explanation for forcing parents and newborns—with 11,000 babies born in Maine every year—to sit in a crowded waiting room, when we have done this easily, securely and efficiently for decades."
Earlier this week, officials at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said they were told by the Social Security Administration that the Trump administration had abruptly canceled two contracts halting the "Enumeration at Birth" process, which has been effect since the 1980s, that allows new parents to fill out a form at a hospital or health center to secure a Social Security number for their child, according to the Press Herald. The officials said no explanation was given. The directive would have also impacted electronic filing of death records at funeral homes.
But on Friday morning, the Press Herald reported that the Trump administration had backtracked. "The SSA has just notified Maine DHHS that it is rescinding the terminations of the Maine contracts for Enumeration at Birth (EAB) and Electronic Death Records (EDR) effective immediately," said Alisa Morton, spokesperson for the Maine DHHS, according to the outlet.
"I recently directed Social Security employees to end two contracts which affected the good people of the state of Maine," said Lee Dudek, Acting Social Security Commissioner, in a statement on Friday. "In retrospect, I realize that ending these contracts created an undue burden on the people of Maine, which was not the intent. For that, I apologize and have directed that both contracts be immediately reinstated... As a leader, I will admit my mistakes and make them right."
BothHuffPost and the Press Heraldreported that the contracts may have been targeted by Elon Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency."
The two outlets identified that DOGE's website lists multiple canceled "Enumeration at Birth" contracts for states and one U.S. territory. Maine, however, is not listed among them.
The initial news that Maine parents would not be able to use the "Enumeration at Birth" process had some observers wondering if the change was a form of retaliation for Maine Gov. Janet Mills' recent public confrontation with Trump.
"There's been zero explanation for this given but it seems exceedingly likely it's pure retaliation for the Maine governor challenging Trump. Really sick," wroteMSNBC anchor Chris Hayes, before the news that it had been reversed. The radio journalist Kai Ryssdal also said that the initial move was because "Gov Mills told [Trump] something he didn't want to hear."
Last month, Trump and Mills tangled at a White House event over Maine's opposition to complying with an executive order that bars transgender student athletes from playing on girls' sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The Maine Principals' Association, which dictates school sports in Maine, announced that it would continue to allow trans girls to play on girls' sports teams and that the organization will follow state law that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.
During a National Governors Association event at the White house, Trump and Mills had a tense exchange where Trump said that if the state didn't follow the directive then Maine would not get "any federal funding." Mills responded, "We're going to follow the law sir. We'll see you in court."
On Friday, the president of the advocacy group Social Security Works, Nancy Altman, weighed in on the situation: "Cancelling those contracts created waste, abuse, and at least the potential for fraud. There is no policy reason for cancelling them, and many policy reasons against it."
"The only explanation is political revenge against Maine Governor Janet Mills, who has recently defied the Trump Administration," she said.
This piece was updated on Friday afternoon with comments from the president of Social Security Works.
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'See You in Court,' Maine Governor Says to Trump's Face After Funding Threat
The president threatened to cut off federal funding to the state for respecting the identities of trans student-athletes.
Feb 21, 2025
Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills stood up to U.S. President Donald Trump at a Friday event in Washington, D.C. after the Republican threatened to cut off federal funding because the state allows transgender youth to participate in sports in line with their identities.
While at the podium, Trump asked if Maine's governor was at the event. After Mills confirmed her presence, he asked if she will comply with his executive order intended to use his administration's interpretation of Title IX—a federal law barring discrimination on the basis of sex at educational institutions that get federal funds—to block trans girls and women from competing as female athletes.
"You better do it, because you're not gonna get any federal funding at all if you don't," Trump said to Mills—who replied that she would follow state and federal laws. She also told the president, "See you in court."
Mills also released a statement vowing that "if the president attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of federal funding, my administration and the attorney general will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides. The state of Maine will not be intimidated by the president's threats."
Maine Morning Starreported Friday that the state's attorney general, Aaron Frey, said in a statement that any attempt by Trump to cut federal funding over the issue "would be illegal and in direct violation of federal court orders."
"Fortunately," he said, "the rule of law still applies in this country, and I will do everything in my power to defend Maine's laws and block efforts by the president to bully and threaten us."
"It is disturbing that President Trump would use children as pawns in advancing his political agenda," added Frey, who earlier this month joined other Democratic attorneys general in vowing to protect access to gender-affirming healthcare, another GOP target.
While the National Collegiate Athletic Association swiftly updated its policies to align with Trump's order, the Maine Principals' Association—which governs athletics for all public high schools and multiple private institutions in the state—confirmed earlier this month that it will continue allowing trans athletes to compete in girls' sports. Mike Burnham, executive director of MPA's Interscholastic Division, cited a 2021 update to state law.
As the Bangor Daily Newsdetailed Friday:
Between 2013 and 2021, the association allowed kids to compete in a manner consistent with their gender identity as long as there were no safety concerns. An MPA committee assessed cases one by one, and there were 54 such cases during that period. Only four involved transgender girls.
In 2021, the Democratic-led Legislature added education-related protections for gender identity to [the] Maine Human Rights Act. Since then, the MPA has allowed students to compete with those of their identified gender.
The Friday exchange between Mills and Trump—whose administration is engaged in a sweeping effort to erase trans people—came after the result of a recent pole vaulting state championship for high schoolers and one Republican lawmaker's Facebook post about it garnered national media attention.
State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-90) on Monday posted a pair of photos identifying one Greely High School pole vaulter as trans and put the teenager's preferred name in quotation marks. She later toldMaine's Total Coverage, "I think we have a responsibility to protect girls' sports, to protect Maine girls, and to ensure that they have a level playing field."
The outlet noted that state House Minority Leader Katrina Smith (R-62) "shared on her Instagram the names and email addresses of the Maine Department of Education commissioner, the state attorney general, and the executive director of the Maine Principals' Association telling constituents to call on them to follow President Trump's executive order."
Libby—who on Friday made several more Facebook posts highlighting Trump's threat to Mills and thanking the president—has faced strong backlash from Democratic lawmakers and various other critics for her initial post bullying the teenage athlete.
"We have been reminded this week of the importance of respecting the privacy of Maine kids, and the value in treating people of all ages with kindness and decency," Rep. Ryan Fecteau (D-103), the first openly gay speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, wrote in a Friday opinion piece for the Bangor Daily News.
"To young people who are members of the LGBTQ+ community, know that I see you and I stand with you," he said. "After the events of this week, I ask all my legislative colleagues to recommit to keeping kids out of the political fray. They deserve better. There is a time and place for policy debates. That time and place will never be a social media post attacking a student. Full stop."
Later on Friday, the Trump administration sent a letter to Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin announcing a federal investigation into the state agency and Maine School Administrative District #51, which includes Greely High School.
"Let me be clear: If Maine wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Education Department, it has to follow Title IX," said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the federal level. "If it wants to forgo federal funds and continue to trample the rights of its young female athletes, that, too, is its choice."
Responding in a lengthy statement, Mills said that "no president—Republican or Democrat—can withhold federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will. It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold."
"Maine may one of the first states to undergo an investigation by his administration, but we won't be the last," warned Mills, a former district attorney and state attorney general. "Today, the president of the United States has targeted one particular group on one particular issue which Maine law has addressed. But you must ask yourself: Who and what will he target next, and what will he do? Will it be you? Will it be because of your race or your religion? Will it be because you look different or think differently? Where does it end? In America, the president is neither a king nor a dictator, as much as this one tries to act like it—and it is the rule of law that prevents him from being so."
"I imagine that the outcome of this politically directed investigation is all but predetermined," she added, again pledging to fight Trump in court. "But do not be misled: This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot."
This post has been updated to include the Trump administration's letter to the Maine Department of Education and the governor's response.
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