The US Justice Department, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, filed a lawsuit against the state of Maine for enabling transgender athletes to play women’s and girls’ sports. The lawsuit follows an escalating battle between the Trump administration and the state after Maine defied President Donald Trump by not banning transgender athletes.
The suit comes on the heels of a series of events that started with Trump’s February meeting with US governors, where he threatened to cut federal funding to Maine if it kept letting transgender women compete in women’s sports. Democratic Governor Janet Mills came back tough, promising to fight the administration’s position in court.
The Justice Department’s complaint alleges that Maine is discriminating against Title IX, which prohibits sex-based education discrimination. The complaint points to two instances in which transgender women dominated their sport, such as a transgender female athlete who took the pole vault at a track and field event and another who won a 5K race. The complaint does not claim any direct injury or threat to female athletes from these competitors.
Bondi believed that transgender women in women’s sports create an unfair disadvantage, but opponents insist that those limits violate the rights of transgender people. Maine has pushed back, with state leaders insisting Title IX does not prohibit transgender women from playing sports. Maine’s attorney general, Sarah Forster, has reaffirmed that the state’s stance is consistent with legal protections for transgender individuals.
This court fight is going to go on as Maine stands firm, while the federal government tries to get the policy changed.
