The Trump administration is escalating its fight against policies allowing male athletes to compete in female sports, announcing a Title IX investigation into the Maine Department of Education and a local school district.
The probe comes on the heels of a heated exchange between President Donald Trump and Maine Governor Janet Mills during a White House event.
The investigation, led by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, will examine whether Maine’s policies violate Title IX, the landmark 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in schools. A notice obtained by the Bangor Daily News cites a recent executive order signed by Trump that bars federal funding for schools allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports. The notice, addressed to Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin, was signed by Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
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Maine is the third state to face such an investigation under the Trump administration, following similar probes into California and Minnesota last week. The move underscores the administration’s commitment to enforcing its interpretation of Title IX, which it argues is being undermined by policies that allow transgender athletes to compete in categories aligning with their gender identity rather than their biological sex.
The investigation follows a fiery confrontation between Trump and Mills during a White House Governors’ Working Session on Friday. Trump criticized Maine’s defiance of his executive order, which he signed on February 5 to protect women’s sports from what he called “unfair competition” by biological males.
“The NCAA has complied immediately, by the way, that’s good, but I understand Maine—is Maine here, the governor of Maine?” Trump asked during the event. Mills, seated in the audience, responded, “I’m back here.”
Trump pressed further, asking, “Are you not going to comply with it?” Mills replied that she would abide by “state and federal law,” prompting a sharp retort from the president.
“Well, we are the federal law. You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t,” Trump warned. “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. So you better comply, because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding.”
Mills fired back, “We’ll see you in court,” to which Trump responded, “Good! I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a really easy one.”
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Maine has been at the center of the national debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports. On February 7, the Maine Principal’s Association announced that biological males would still be allowed to compete in women’s sports, defying Trump’s executive order. The decision followed a controversial incident in which a biological male won Maine’s state pole-vaulting championship in women’s track and field after finishing fifth in men’s track and field the previous year.
Maine state law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, a policy that guides the Maine Principal’s Association’s rules allowing high school students to compete in athletics according to their identified gender. Critics argue that such policies undermine the integrity of women’s sports and pose safety risks to female athletes.
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The Trump administration’s investigation into Maine is part of a broader effort to enforce its interpretation of Title IX and protect women’s sports. The executive order signed by Trump on February 5 aims to bar federal funding from schools that allow biological males to compete in women’s sports, framing the issue as a matter of fairness and safety.
“This is about fairness, safety, and common sense,” Trump said during the White House event. “We’re going to protect women’s sports, and we’re going to win this fight.”
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