The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday temporarily paused funding to the entire University of Maine System (UMS) due to the state’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills refusing to comply with President Donald Trump’s order banning men from competing in women’s sports.
Trump and Mills had a fiery exchange at the White House in February in which the president called the governor out for pledging not to comply with the order to protect women’s sports, which Mills responded by threatening legal action against the president. The USDA opened an investigation into Maine’s department of education the following day to review UMS’s compliance with Title IX, which protects women from discrimination.
UMS said in a press release that an email apparently sent from the USDA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer 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 or the University of Maine System.”
Federal funding to Columbia University was also revoked over accusations the university was not doing enough to protect Jewish students when violent antisemitic protests broke out on campus and multi-week long encampments were allowed to remain in place.
“This pause is temporary in nature while USDA evaluates if it should take any follow-on actions related to prospective Title VI or Title IX violations,” the message to USDA read, according to UMS. “Please take any necessary actions to effectuate this direction from leadership. This pause will remain in effect until further notice.”
Mills’ clash with the president stemmed from claims made by Maine Principals’ Association just days before the White House event saying it would still allow men to compete in women’s sports. A high school male athlete in the state swept a female competition shortly after.
Trump issued the executive order protecting women’s sports on Feb. 5 after biological men began dominating the division under the Biden administration, with women losing records and opportunities to compete in major competitions. Some female athletes have suffered devastating injuries at the hands of male athletes.
During his presidency, former President Joe Biden attempted to rewrite Title IX to include protections for transgender individuals, which was widely criticized for effectively undermining the protections meant for women and faced numerous legal challenges. The rule was heavily challenged and eventually dropped.
A spokesman for the University of Maine System told the Daily Caller News Foundation the system could not share more information at this time. The USDA did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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