Trump admin slashes Maine university funding after state keeps men in women's sports

Maine has begun to reap the whirlwind over its refusal to comply with President Donald Trump's Feb. 5 executive order banning male transvestites from competing in girls' or women's sports.

The University of Maine System, which consists of seven universities and a law school, revealed in a statement Tuesday that its funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been temporarily paused.

The UMS said that it received a copy of an email on Monday from the USDA's Office of the Chief Financial Officer that directed the department's "awarding agencies and staff offices to temporarily no longer issue any payments or authorize any other releases of funding to Columbia University of the University of Maine System."

The USDA noted that it has poured over $100 million into the University of Maine in recent years.

According to the UMS, the University of Maine received nearly $30 million in USDA awards for research and various initiatives in fiscal year 2024. The University of Southern Maine also has been receiving various USDA awards. The Portland Press Herald indicated that the UMS has $56.1 million in active USDA grants.

'Your population doesn't want men playing in women's sports.'

The department email noted further that "this pause is temporary in nature while USDA evaluates if it should take any follow-on actions related to prospective Title VI [of the Civil Rights Act] or Title IX violations. Please take any necessary actions to effectuate this direction from leadership. This pause will remain in effect until further notice."

UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy suggested that he was unaware of any "mistakes" the university system has made, reported the Herald.

"It's disappointing. The letter that we got didn't give a reason," say Malloy. "They're looking into things. We've complied. We've answered questions."

The UMS reportedly told the USDA that it is complying with the updated NCAA policy that excludes cross-dressing men from women's sports.

Trump called Democratic Gov. Janet Mills out at a Feb. 21 governors' meeting at the White House for her refusal to comply with his popular executive order. Just days earlier, a subpar male took advantage of Mills' defiance and crushed his female competitors in the girls' pole-vault competition at the Maine Indoor Track Meet.

"You better do it because you're not going to get any federal funding at all if you don't," said the president. "And by the way, your population, even though it's somewhat liberal, although I did very well there, your population doesn't want men playing in women's sports."

'Taxpayers' hard-earned dollars will not support institutions that discriminate against women.'

According to a recent New York Times/Ipsos poll, 79% of Americans want to see athletes compete in sports teams that align with their sex.

Mills told Trump she would see him in court, to which the president responded, "I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one."

The USDA announced on Feb. 22 that it had "initiated a compliance review of the University of Maine following the State of Maine's blatant disregard for President Trump's Executive Order 14201, Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports."

"President Trump has made it abundantly clear: taxpayers' hard-earned dollars will not support institutions that discriminate against women," stated Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also launched an investigation into whether the Maine Department of Education, including the UMS, was complying with Trump's order. HHS quickly determined that the state was in violation of Title IX for allowing men to compete in girls' and women's sports and referred the case to the Justice Department.

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