Maine universities agree to keep transgender athletes out of women's sports after Trump admin pauses funding

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that the University of Maine System (UMS) has agreed to comply with President Donald Trump's enforcement bid to support transgender athletes retired of women's sports. 

UMS, a web of 8 nationalist universities successful Maine, was taxable to a impermanent intermission successful backing from the USDA past week during an ongoing conflict betwixt the authorities and the national authorities implicit trans inclusion successful women's and girls sports. The backing was reinstated conscionable days later. 

The USDA present claims the UMS is successful afloat compliance with Trump's enforcement order. 

TRUMP ADMIN RESPONDS TO MAINE'S RELUCTANCE TO BAN TRANS ATHLETES FROM GIRLS SPORTS

"After the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated a Title IX compliance reappraisal regarding national funding, the University of Maine System (UMaine) has intelligibly communicated its compliance with Title IX’s request to support adjacent opportunities for women and girls to vie successful harmless and just sports, arsenic articulated successful President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order," the USDA said successful its announcement. 

"Any mendacious assertion by the UMaine can, and will, effect successful onerous and adjacent perchance transgression fiscal liability." 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building entranceway sign. (Getty Images)

UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy provided a connection to Fox News Digital, saying the strategy is "relieved" to person travel to an knowing with the USDA. 

"The University of Maine System has ever maintained its compliance with authorities and national laws and with NCAA rules, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture besides affirmed successful a property merchandise today," said Chancellor Malloy. 

"We are relieved to enactment the Department’s Title IX compliance reappraisal down america truthful the land-grant University of Maine and our statewide partners tin proceed to leverage USDA and different indispensable national funds to fortify and turn our earthy assets system and babelike agrarian communities done world-class education, probe and extension."

MAINE RESPONDS TO TRUMP ADMIN'S DECLARATION STATE VIOLATED TITLE IX BY ALLOWING TRANSGENDERS IN GIRLS SPORTS

The pupil rec halfway astatine the University of Maine (Edwin Remsburg/VW Pics via Getty Images)

In fiscal twelvemonth 2024 alone, the USDA awarded $29.78 cardinal successful backing to UMS for research, the strategy said. The USDA claims it has provided implicit $100 cardinal to the UMS successful caller years successful a missive addressed to the system. 

The NCAA besides amended its sex eligibility argumentation to prohibit immoderate jock calved biologically antheral from competing successful women's sports.

Trump initially vowed to chopped backing to Maine specifically if it continued to let trans athletes to vie successful girls sports during a gathering of GOP governors astatine the White House Feb. 20.

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The adjacent day, Gov. Janet Mills' bureau responded with a connection threatening ineligible enactment against the Trump medication if it withheld national backing from the state. Then Trump and Mills verbally sparred successful a wide publicized statement astatine the White House during a bipartisan gathering of governors.

Just hours aft that interaction, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would analyse the authorities for allowing transgender athletes to vie successful girls sports and for imaginable Title IX violations. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has already determined that the authorities and its Department of Education violated Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to vie and warned that it volition marque a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice if the authorities does not supply a written statement to comply with Trump's enforcement order.

"What HHS is asking of the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) and Greely High School is elemental — support pistillate athletes’ rights. Girls merit girls-only sports without antheral competitors. And if Maine won’t travel to the array to voluntarily comply with Title IX, HHS volition enforce Title IX to the fullest grade permitted by the law," OCR acting Director Anthony Archeval said successful a connection to Fox News Digital.

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