U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is threatening to sue the state of Maine over the state allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports at public schools and universities.
In a Feb. 25 letter to Gov. Janet Mills, Bondi said Maine’s policy violates Title IX of the federal Educational Amendments Act of 1972.
President Donald Trump sparred with Mills at a meeting of governors at the White House last week, with Gov. Janet Mills telling the Republican president, “We’ll see you in court,” over his push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes.
Trump told the governor he looked forward to it and predicted the end of her political career for opposing his order. Later that day, the U.S. Department of Education said it was initiating an investigation into the Maine Department of Education over the inclusion of transgender athletes.
In her letter to Mills, Bondi framed the issue as the state forcing girls to compete against boys.
“Maine should be on notice,” Bondi wrote, and stated that federal law supercedes local laws allowing transgender athletes to compete on the same team with whose gender they identify with.
In a statement on Feb. 21, Mills said that Trump was overstepping his authority.
The issue, Mills stated, was “about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation.”
Mills said she would work with the attorney general to defend the state in court, but she predicted that Maine would not be the last state Trump tried to target.
“I imagine that the outcome of this politically directed investigation is all but predetermined,” she said in a statement. She added: “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.”
