Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills speaks at a information convention at Morse Excessive College on Oct. 20, 2022, in Tub, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
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Robert F. Bukaty/AP
A federal choose ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funding that was allotted to Maine from the U.S. Division of Agriculture — funds that had been withheld following President Trump’s clash with Maine Gov. Janet Mills over the problem of transgender athletes.
U.S. District Court docket Choose John Woodcock granted Maine’s request for a short lived restraining order on Friday. The USDA is simply one of many companies the place federal funding for Maine has been threatened. The company didn’t instantly reply to request for a remark.
The feud between Trump and the state of Maine started after the president issued an government order in early February barring transgender student athletes from taking part in on women’ sports activities groups. The order additionally requires the federal authorities “to rescind all funds from academic applications that deprive ladies and women of truthful athletic alternatives.”
In response, the Maine Principals’ Affiliation, which governs college sports activities within the state, mentioned it should proceed to permit trans women to compete, asserting that federal motion is at odds with state regulation. Then, on Feb. 21, throughout a governors’ occasion on the White Home, Trump referred to as out Mills for resisting his government order.
“You higher do it, since you’re not going to get any federal funding in any respect in case you do not,” Trump advised Mills.
To which Mills replied, “See you in court docket.”
For the reason that confrontation, Trump has demanded an apology from the Maine governor. “We’d like a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and an announcement that she is going to by no means make such an illegal problem to the Federal Authorities once more, earlier than this case could be settled,” he wrote on social media.
Following the fallout, the Trump administration has additionally initiated a number of investigations into Maine, citing considerations over Title IX, which prohibits discrimination in schooling based mostly on intercourse, Maine Public Radio reported. That features the Schooling Division and the Division of Well being and Human Providers.
The USDA acquired concerned earlier this month. In a letter on April 2, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins advised Mills that USDA funding for sure administrative and technological capabilities in faculties can be paused in response to the governor’s “defiance of federal regulation.”
It was unclear how a lot support can be affected however Rollins threatened that different areas of analysis and education-related funding can be reviewed. In response, the state of Maine filed a grievance on Monday, arguing that the USDA didn’t comply with the obligatory statutory and regulatory steps earlier than it might probably terminate federal funds.
Within the swimsuit, Maine Legal professional Normal Aaron Frey urged the court docket to reinstate federal funds, arguing that it was support used to feed schoolchildren in Maine.
