Maine Secures Victory: Trump Administration Officials Concede to Cease Freezing School Funding | Maine

The Trump administration has agreed not to freeze funds to Maine schools, a victory for the state that was targeted by the president over its support for transgender rights. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will halt efforts to withhold funds for a child nutrition program in Maine, after the state refused to comply with Donald Trump’s demands that trans girls be barred from participating in girls’ sports. In February, Governor Janet Mills had responded to the president’s threats to revoke funding by saying, “We’ll see you in court.” Maine then sued the USDA last month to maintain its funding and agreed on Friday to drop its lawsuit in exchange for the restoration of funds. The governor said that USDA had frozen funds for a program that helps feed 172,000 children in the state. The settlement says the USDA and Brooke Rollins, the secretary of agriculture, “agree to refrain from freezing, termination, or otherwise interfering with the state of Maine’s access to United States Department of Agriculture funds … based on alleged violations of Title IX without first following all legally required procedures.” The Trump administration had alleged that Maine’s policy of allowing transgender youth’s participation in sports violated Title IX, the federal anti-discrimination law. Maine’s attorneys argued that the child nutrition program received or was due to receive more than $1.8m for the current fiscal year. The settlement does not affect another ongoing lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against the Maine department of education over its policy for trans athletes. Governor Mills said that she is confident the state will also prevail in that case, and added that these bullying tactics will not be tolerated.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/02/trump-maine-funding-freeze