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Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Transgender, LGBTQ, Sport
Donald Trump has made a surprising u-turn with Maine amidst his battle with the state over transgender pupils in school sports.
Earlier this year, the president had a heated debate with Maine governor Janet Mills over his executive order that bans trans athletes from competing in women's sports.
In a meeting on February 21, Trump told Mills she must comply with the order and threatened to pull funding from the state, including federal funds for administrative and technological functions in schools, if she refused to follow.
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The president told her: “We are federal law, you better do it. You better do it, because you’re not going to get federal funding… Your population doesn’t want men in women’s sports.”
Mills promptly replied: "We'll see you in court."
“Good. I’ll see you in court. I’ll look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.” Trump said. “And enjoy your life after, governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
Now, it has appeared Trump has softened his stance by hitting pause on efforts to freeze funds that were used for the state's child nutrition program, reports The New York Times.
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In response, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said the state would withdraw the lawsuit it had filed against the US Department of Agriculture.
"It's unfortunate that my office had to resort to federal court just to get USDA to comply with the law and its own regulations," Frey said. "But we are pleased that the lawsuit has now been resolved and that Maine will continue to receive funds as directed by Congress to feed children and vulnerable adults."
Frey said the federal funds were used to pay for food preparation in schools, child care centers and help towards feeding disabled adults.
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The conflict unravelled when a letter from the Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins explained there was a disagreement between the state and federal governments over whether Maine was complying with the order, Title IX, that prohibits discrimination in education based on sex.
In a statement in April, Rollins said her agency was reviewing grants awarded to Maine by the Biden administration and called them 'wasteful, redundant, or otherwise against the priorities of the Trump Administration'.
Days later, Maine's Department of Education stated it could not access sources of federal funds for a state nutrition program, prompting the state to sue the Trump administration on the grounds of affecting children and vulnerable adults.
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Frey said: "The food doesn’t just buy itself, deliver itself, cook itself," before adding that the Trump administration had attempted to 'bully' Maine.
Maine's attorneys argued that the child nutrition program should be in receipt of $1.8 million for the current fiscal year, while prior funds that were awarded but were blocked came to more than $900,000, according to court documents.
The lawsuit also stated the program was expecting a sum of around $3 million that usually comes every July for a summer meal program and meal reimbursement.
A federal judge ordered the administration to release the funds last month and said Maine was likely to succeed its legal challenge.
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Celebrating the news, Mills said in a statement: "The state of Maine went to court and fought this unlawful attempt to freeze critical funding for our school lunch program - and we won.
"I applaud the work of Attorney General Frey and his staff in representing the state in this action against USDA, and preserving healthy school meals for 172,000 Maine school children."