Last month, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning biological males from competing in girls' and women's sports, restoring Title IX to its original meaning. It was a move that has forced many institutions to comply with biological reality. The NCAA capitulated, but Democrats in blue states are resisting.
The Trump administration made its position very clear: comply with Title IX directives or risk losing federal funding. Maine's leftist Gov. Janet Mills defiantly declared to Trump at a meeting of governors last month, "We'll see you in court."
Trump simply replied, “I look forward to it.”
Maine has officially caved to Trump.
The University of Maine System (UMS) caved and will now comply with President Trump's executive order protecting women's sports from the radical transgender agenda.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that the University of Maine System (UMS) has agreed to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order to keep transgender athletes out of women's sports.
UMS, a network of eight public universities in Maine, claims it has been compliant with the NCAA's revised gender policy to keep trans athletes out of the women's category since the NCAA's revision was made on Feb. 6, and has always followed state and federal law. UMS was subject to a temporary pause in funding from the USDA last week during an ongoing battle between the state and the federal government over trans inclusion in women's and girls sports. The funding was reinstated just days later.
The USDA now claims the UMS is in full compliance with Trump's executive order.
"After the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated a Title IX compliance review regarding federal funding, the University of Maine System (UMaine) has clearly communicated its compliance with Title IX’s requirement to protect equal opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports, as articulated in President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order," the USDA announced Thursday. "Any false claim by the UMaine can, and will, result in onerous and even potentially criminal financial liability."
This wasn't just about one campus either. We're talking about eight public universities across Maine suddenly realizing that defying Trump's defense of women's sports might not be the hill they want to die on. UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy, probably sweating bullets over potentially losing millions in funding, couldn't scramble fast enough to signal compliance:
"We are relieved to put the Department's Title IX compliance review behind us so the land-grant University of Maine and our statewide partners can continue to leverage USDA and other essential federal funds,” he said in a statement.
The real beauty here is watching the coordinated pressure campaign from multiple federal agencies. While the USDA was waving that funding hammer, HHS found Maine in violation of Title IX, and the Department of Education launched its own investigation.
In fiscal year 2024 alone, the USDA awarded $29.78 million in funding to UMS for research, the system said. The USDA claims it has provided over $100 million to the UMS in recent years in a letter addressed to the system.
"What HHS is asking of the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association (MPA), and Greely High School is simple—protect female athletes' rights," the Office of Civil Rights acting Director Anthony Archeval said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Girls deserve girls-only sports without male competitors. And if Maine won’t come to the table to voluntarily comply with Title IX, HHS will enforce Title IX to the fullest extent permitted by the law.”
This victory shows exactly why Trump's leadership matters. While Democrats like Mills grandstand about "inclusion" at the expense of female athletes, Trump actually delivers results. One executive order, backed by serious enforcement muscle, has done more to protect women's sports than decades of liberal virtue signaling.
Senate Democrats filibustered the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act earlier this month, which would codify protections for real women and girls in Title IX
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