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The Department of Justice has officially filed a lawsuit against the State of Maine, alleging that its policy allowing transgender girls to compete in women’s sports violates federal law.
Some shit you should know before you read: Earlier this year, President Trump and Governor Janet Mills (D-ME) clashed publicly over the issue of transgender women competing in women’s sports during a meeting at the White House with the nation’s governors. President Trump, referencing his newly issued executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” directly challenged Mills on whether Maine would comply. Mills responded that she would follow state and federal law, to which Trump sharply replied, “We are the federal law,” and warned that Maine would lose all federal funding if it did not adhere to his directive. Mills responded, “See you in court,” and Trump replied, “Good. I’ll see you in court. That should be an easy one. And enjoy your life after Governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.” Since then, Maine has continued to allow transgenders to compete in school sports according to their gender identity, in accordance with the Maine Human Rights Act, putting the state in direct defiance of Trump’s federal order.
What’s going on now: Today, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the DOJ is filing a civil lawsuit against the State of Maine, accusing the state of violating Title IX by allowing transgender girls to participate in girls’ and women’s sports. Bondi argued that Maine is “openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law” and argued that the inclusion of transgender athletes deprives girls of fair competition and exposes them to risks of “physical injury and psychological harm.”
The DOJ’s lawsuit is seeking an injunction to immediately prevent transgender athletes from competing in female sports categories, demands the revocation and return of athletic titles won by transgender athletes, and threatens to retroactively pull federal funding that Maine has received in the past. “We don’t like standing up here and filing lawsuits,” Bondi said at a press conference, “but we will not sit by when women are discriminated against in sports.”
Bondi was joined at the DOJ press event by former swimmer Riley Gaines, a vocal critic of transgender inclusion in sports.
Maine responds: Governor Janet Mills pushed back on the DOJ’s lawsuit, calling it a “campaign to pressure the State of Maine to ignore the Constitution and abandon the rule of law.” In a written statement, Mills said that this is “not just about who can compete on the athletic field,” but about whether a president can “force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation.” She added, “For decades… I have fought tirelessly for the rights of women and girls, for the health and well-being of children and families, and for defending the Constitution of Maine and the Constitution of the United States.”
