Trump admin pauses funding for University of Maine due to state’s transgender athlete policy 

President Donald Trump made a promise – and he’s keeping it. 

After vowing to withhold federal funding from Maine due to the state allowing male transgender-identifying athletes to compete in women’s sports, his administration has made good on that threat. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently paused funding to the University of Maine System (UMS), a group of eight public colleges. 

“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,” a message sent to UMS from the federal government said, according to Fox News. “Please take any necessary actions to effectuate this direction from leadership. This pause will remain in effect until further notice.” 

A UMS spokesman told Fox News that since UMaine schools are NCAA members, a body which bars males from competing in women’s sports, it does not violate the Trump administration’s transgender athlete executive order. The spokesman also said he is unaware of race-based discrimination at the school, violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

The USDA awarded the UMS system $29.78 million in research funding in 2024 alone, the report said. A USDA letter sent to the school noted it has provided UMS with over $100 million this decade. 

Trump specifically promised to cut funding to Maine if the state kept letting transgender athletes compete during a meeting with governors on February 20. 

He sparred openly with Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, who promised her state would take him to court if he did it.  

The next day, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would investigate the state for potential Title IX violations. It came weeks after Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to withhold funding from states that allow transgender athletes in girls’ interscholastic sports. 

Maine had been in the news as a male athlete named Katie Spencer won state titles in girls’ pole vault and a team championship with Greely High last month. 

A four-day investigation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services then determined Maine violated Title IX due to two transgender athletes: Spencer and Soren Stark-Chessa of Maine Coast Waldorf, a private school in Freeport, who won a girls’ outdoor track state championship in the 800-meter last spring. 

State Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, posted a picture on social media of Spencer which went viral, garnering over 100,000 reactions.  

This prompted the Democrat-controlled Maine House of Representatives to censure her last month, voting 75-70 along party lines.  

House Speaker Ryan Fecteau claimed the censure came because she posted a picture of a minor, not because of her views of transgender athletes. 

Since the censure, Libby has been unable to speak on the House floor or vote on legislation. 

The legislature’s rules state she can regain those privileges if she apologizes. However, Libby refused to apologize and instead filed a lawsuit against Fecteau this week to restore those rights. 

Maine Republicans have sided with Libby and introduced legislation to ban males from women’s sports. 

Since the incident, Democrats have expressed little support for males competing in women’s sports in Maine. 

Rep. David Rollins, D-Augusta, said he opposes males competing in women’s sports and thinks several other rank-and-file Democrats agree. Meanwhile, Gov. Mills has said the topic is “worthy of a debate.” 

A January 2025 New York Times poll found that 79% of Americans, including 67% of Democrats, oppose males competing in women’s sports, while just 18% support it.