Five tumultuous weeks ago, Gov. Janet Mills told President Donald Trump “see you in court” when he demanded Maine disregard state law about transgender athletes. And now that’s where the conflict is likely headed.
On Thursday, the Maine Principals’ Association and a southern Maine school district said they cannot agree to a list of changes that the Trump administration says are needed to bring them back into compliance with its interpretation of federal law. The Maine Department of Education has yet to formally respond to similar demands and it’s unclear that it will. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has already warned that Maine could face litigation if it ignores the Trump administration’s demands.
Mills, meanwhile, broke several weeks of relative silence on Monday by replying to Trump’s demand for a “full-throated apology” by questioning his presidential authority and his commitment to protecting women and girls.
This week’s turn of events are unlikely to de-escalate the conflict between Maine and the new presidential administration over transgender athletes that has led the Trump administration to bring the full weight of the federal government onto a state of 1.3 million people that’s heavily reliant on federal funding.
The conflict took place Feb. 21. It’s been a bewildering barrage ever since: hasty investigations, threats to yank federal funds, threats of lawsuits, federal contracts canceled and restored without explanation and unsupported claims by President Trump that Maine has “apologized.”
Here’s a rundown:
Feb. 21
Within hours of the Mills-Trump confrontation, the U.S. Department of Education — which the president is trying to dissolve — announces that its civil rights division is launching a probe into the Maine Department of Education and School Administrative District 51, which includes Greely High School. Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary, says the investigation will review whether Maine violated Title IX, a 1972 law designed to expand educational and athletic opportunities for women. Mills, in a statement, says the investigation is “politically directed and its result likely predetermined.”
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Feb. 21
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a sprawling agency that typically focuses on public health, announces that it’s also launching a Title IX probe into the Maine Department of Education.
Feb. 25
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has connections to Trump and represented him during his first impeachment trial, sends a warning letter putting Maine “on notice” for not complying with the president’s edict barring transgender athletes from competing on women’s sports teams. Bondi says Maine risks litigation by the Department of Justice if it doesn’t comply.
Feb. 25
Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at U.S. DOE, says in a press statement it’s “shameful” that Gov. Mills “refuses to stand with women and girls” and that her rejection of “anti discrimination obligations” is “unlawful.” At this point, DOE’s civil rights division has not yet completed its investigation. It wouldn’t do so until March 19.
Feb. 25
Four days after launching its probe, HHS’ civil rights division notifies Maine DOE that it’s in violation of Title IX and that it’s referring the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice. Bondi leads the U.S. Attorney's Office, the prosecutorial arm of the DOJ. The investigation was based largely on publicly available information, such as websites and news stories. Spokespeople for Mills and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said no one from HHS directly contacted anyone in those offices or in the Maine DOE as part of the investigation. When asked for comment, Mills’ office refers reporters back to the governor’s original statement about the probe -- that it’s politically motivated and predetermined.
Feb. 28
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notifies the University of Maine that it’s canceling a $4.5 million Sea Grant contract, leaving the marine research program’s 20 employees in limbo. Similar Sea Grant contracts in 33 other states are not disrupted. An official with NOAA says Maine’s program “is no longer relevant to the (Trump) Administration’s priorities and program objectives.”
March 3
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, split on a bill that would bar transgender athletes from competing on women’s sports teams. The proposal would have had direct implications for the dispute in Maine. It would clarify that Title IX protections are based exclusively on a person's "reproductive biology and genetics at birth" and effectively end the legal wrangling over the Title IX issue and enshrine Trump’s executive order in law. King votes against the bill. Collins supports it. It remains stalled in the Senate.
March 5
In a press statement, Collins announces that the Maine Sea Grant will be “renegotiated,” citing her conversations with Howard Lutnick, Trump’s commerce secretary. Collins says the funding would resume as long as Maine’s program “focuses on advancing Maine’s coastal economies, working waterfronts and sustainable fisheries.” It’s never clear why the Trump administration determined that Maine’s program was out of sync with those objectives, or why it pulled its funding in the first place.
March 5
The Social Security Administration tells officials at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services that it’s ending the state’s Enumeration at Birth contract that allows parents of newborns to apply for a Social Security card at the hospital. No reason is given for this decision, but it means parents of newborns have to go to a Social Security office to apply for a card.
March 7
The Social Security Administration reinstates Maine’s Enumeration at Birth contract without explanation. Acting director Will Dudek apologizes for the move, but doesn’t say why it happened. Weeks later, Dudek admits during a press call reported by the Huffington Post that he was upset with how Mills spoke to Trump during the Feb. 21 exchange. In a subsequent interview, Dudek tells the New York Times, “I was ticked at the governor of Maine for not being real cordial to the president. ... I screwed up. I’ll admit I screwed up.”
March 11
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announces it’s suspending $56.1 million in funding to University of Maine pending a review of the system’s Title IX compliance. UMaine adheres to the NCAA policy that was updated after Trump’s executive order. NCAA president Charlie Baker told the Associated Press that he knew of only 10 transgender athletes competing in all NCAA sports last year.
March 12
Collins announces that the USDA will reinstate UMaine’s funding. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, calls the investigation into UMaine a “total sham” and says there “continues to be zero transparency or explanation for these reckless and spiteful decisions.”
March 17
The U.S. HHS notifies Greely High School and the Maine Principals Association, which governs scholastic sports, that it’s in violation of Title IX. HHS gives the school and the MPA 10 days to comply with Trump’s edict. An attorney for the MPA says it doesn’t receive federal funds and therefore isn’t within the jurisdiction of HHS.
March 19
The USDA, which typically maintains ideological and partisan neutrality, issues a press release declaring that the University of Maine “chooses sanity” and will comply with Trump’s transgender edict. The release makes it appear as though UMaine has changed course, but it hasn’t. The USDA release also threatens to yank UMaine’s funding if it falls out of compliance: “Any false claim by the UMaine can, and will, result in onerous and even potentially criminal financial liability.” The agency does not explain what it means by “criminal financial liability.”
March 19
The US DOE concludes its Title IX investigation and informs the Maine education department that it’s in violation. The feds give Maine 10 days to respond to a list of demands. Among them: the department must direct all schools in Maine to follow the Trump administration's interpretation of Title IX. The letter goes on to say that if the state does not comply, federal funding for school districts across Maine will be at risk.
March 22
President Trump demands “a full-throated apology” from Mills on his Truth Social social media website. He makes the unsubstantiated claim that Maine has already apologized and adds that the governor must do the same “because she is the one that matters in such cases.” He adds, “Therefore, we need a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again, before this case can be settled. I’m sure she will be able to do that quite easily. Thank you for your attention to this matter and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!! DJT”
March 24
Mills responds to Trump, saying that if the president wants to protect women and girls, “he should start by protecting the women and teenage girls who are suffering miscarriages and dying because they can't get basic lifesaving health care in states across this country."
Mills went on to suggest that potential cuts to Social Security offices and the elimination of USAID programs would impact women and girls.
"If he cares about women and girls, he should talk about the little girls and boys and infants in Sudan and other countries who are dying right now because he has cut off their supply of food and lifesaving medicines," she added. "If he truly cares about women and girls and the people of this country, let's see the economic plan. Let's see the health care plan."
March 27
The school board for Maine School Administrative District 51, which includes Greely High School, informs residents that it will not sign the U.S. DOE’s agreement and follow Trump’s edict. Doing so, it says, would violate the Maine Human Rights Act.
March 28
The US DOE launches an investigation into the state DOE for allegedly allowing schools to create gender plans that allow students to have a transgender identity and shielding the information from parents.
Maine Public reporter Patty Wight contributed to this story.
Maine's Political Pulse was written this week by State House bureau chief Steve Mistler and State House correspondent Kevin Miller, and produced by news editor Andrew Catalina. Read past editions or listen to the Political Pulse podcast at mainepublic.org/pulse.
