A federal agency has referred the Maine Department of Education to the Justice Department for potential enforcement over the state's policy on transgender athletes.
The Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wrote on Feb. 25 that the state had violated Title IX, which is the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational settings. The office said by allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' sports, the state had been "denying female student athletes . . . an equal opportunity" to fairly compete.
HHS then said it had referred the case to the U.S. Department of Justice "with a recommendation that appropriate proceedings be brought to enforce any rights" under federal law. It was unclear Thursday how the Justice Department was handling the referral, although President Trump has vowed to withhold federal funding from any states that fail to comply with his executive order banning transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports.
The four day investigation conducted by HHS appears to have been based largely on publicly available information, such as websites and news stories. Spokespersons for Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey said no one from HHS directly contacted anyone in those offices or in the Maine Department of Education as part of the investigation.
Frey's office received the letter via email four days after HHS had initiated an investigation into the state. The "notice of violation" letter was also sent on the same day that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to state officials in Maine, California and Minnesota threatening potential legal action
“This Department of Justice will defend women and does not tolerate state officials who ignore federal law,” Bondi wrote. “We will leverage every legal option necessary to ensure state compliance with federal law and President Trump’s executive order protecting women’s sports.”
HHS and two other federal agencies launched investigations that same day after Maine Gov. Janet Mills clashed publicly with President Trump after the president pressed Mills over whether Maine would comply with his executive order on transgender athletes.
Mill replied that Maine would comply with state and federal law.
“We are the federal law,” Trump replied. “You’d better do it. You’d better do it, because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
“See you in court,” said Mills, a former state attorney general and prosecutor.
Both Mills' and Frey's offices declined to comment on Thursday about the Feb. 25 "notice of violation" from HHS and the referral to the Justice Department. A spokesman for Mills also referred reporters to the governor's original statement on the issue immediately after her high-profile exchange with Trump.
“I imagine that the outcome of this politically directed investigation is all but predetermined," Mills said on Feb. 21. "My Administration will begin work with the Attorney General to defend the interests of Maine people in the court of law. But do not be misled: this is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot.”
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond on Thursday to questions about the status of the case.
