In a move that throws gasoline on a culture war already burning hot, the federal government has taken Maine to court for refusing to follow a Trump-era executive order banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. At stake? Hundreds of millions in federal funding for schools and student lunch programs — and a state’s right to decide for itself.
The Department of Justice, under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, has accused Maine of violating Title IX, the federal law designed to protect against sex discrimination in education. The administration points to two high school track events where transgender athletes took first place as supposed evidence that Title IX is being misused.
But Bondi made it clear the fight isn’t just about those two events. “I don’t care if it’s one. I don’t care if it’s two. I don’t care if it’s 100,” she said, promising that Maine won’t be the last state facing scrutiny. Minnesota and California are also reportedly under the DOJ’s microscope.
Maine Governor Janet Mills pushed back, framing the lawsuit not as a defense of fairness in sport, but as a raw power grab by the federal government. “This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls,” she said. “It is about states’ rights and defending the rule of law.”
And Maine isn’t taking it lying down. After the U.S. Department of Agriculture attempted to cut off funding for school lunches on April 2, a federal judge intervened and temporarily blocked the freeze. Meanwhile, the Department of Education announced it would slash $250 million in education funding, and the DOJ yanked over $1.5 billion in corrections grants. The message from Washington: obey or lose big.
Maine’s legal team remains unmoved. In an April 11 letter, Assistant Attorney General Sarah Forster rejected proposed resolutions and fired back: “Nothing in Title IX or its implementing regulations prohibits schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate on girls’ and women’s sports teams.”
Polling shows the public leans toward opposition — a February survey found only 26% supported trans athletes competing in school-level girls’ sports, and just 19% favored their participation at elite levels. Still, critics argue the lawsuits solve nothing and instead further isolate an already vulnerable group.
GLAAD denounced the lawsuit, calling it political theater that fails to improve education or protect students. “Every student and school is safer when the most vulnerable students are protected and respected,” the group said.
Behind the noise, the numbers tell a quieter story. Out of more than half a million collegiate athletes, fewer than 10 are openly transgender. Nationally, trans people make up a fraction of the population — but they carry disproportionate mental health burdens, with 81% having considered suicide and 42% having attempted it, according to UCLA’s Williams Institute.
With Maine facing high-stakes congressional races in 2026, this legal battle could reshape both federal-state relations and the broader political landscape.
What started as a fight over high school track is now a showdown over power, identity, and the future of how America defines equality.
