DOJ sues Maine Education Department for transgender policy

The Department of Justice will seek an injunction to stop Maine from allowing men to compete in women’s sports and use women’s facilities, officials said Wednesday. The DOJ decided to file the civil lawsuit as a last resort after the state repeatedly refused to comply, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said. The government is also asking that sports titles be given to women who were bumped from awards by male athletes.

How did this matter end up in the hands of the attorney general? The U.S. Education Department referred the matter to the DOJ after finding that the Maine Department of Education repeatedly violated Title IX, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 prohibits sex-based discrimination. President Donald Trump in a February executive order said the government would pull federal funding from school programs that failed to interpret Title IX on the basis of biological sex.

Why is a lawsuit being brought? Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, and other state officials refused to change their policies despite multiple in-person meetings with McMahon’s staff and Health and Human Services representatives, Bondi said. Both McMahon and Bondi emphasized they were worried about women’s safety in sports and private spaces, not just competitive fairness.

Maine State Representative Laurel Libby briefly spoke in support of the lawsuit. The state House on Feb. 25 censured Libby, preventing her from voting and speaking, after she refused to take down a viral post criticizing an athlete who she said switched from competing as male to female before winning a state title, local news reported. Activists and athletes including Riley Gaines of the Independent Women’s Forum also spoke in support of the DOJ lawsuit at the press conference.

What did Maine’s governor say about the lawsuit? Mills in a Wednesday statement characterized the lawsuit as a federal attempt to overturn the rule of law and oppress states’ rights. She said her administration would vigorously defend its position in court.

What other states might face consequences for their transgender policies? The DOJ has already warned Minnesota and California to stop allowing biological male athletes in women’s sports, Bondi said. Several other states are also in violation of Title IX and will be investigated, she said.

Did the government pull federal funding from Maine’s education department? The U.S. Education Department on April 11 began an administrative proceeding to terminate all of Maine’s federal education funding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also previously paused $3 million in education grants to Maine. But a federal judge on April 11 ordered the funds unfrozen because the pause impacted a child nutrition program, the Associated Press reported.

Are there any exceptions to the lawsuit and funding withdrawal? Bondi said individual school boards in Maine that vote to comply with Title IX will be exempt. She applauded the board of Administrative District 70 in Northeast Maine for already doing so. The board unanimously voted Monday to recognize only two biological sexes and separate their private spaces in its policies, Maine News Center reported.

Dig deeper: Read my report on how the Justice Department terminated funding to Maine’s corrections department after it housed a violent male prisoner in a women’s facility.