The Trump administration agreed to settle a legal battle over its efforts to punish Maine Governor Janet Mills for upholding Maine state law by refusing to ban female transgender athletes from school sports. The US Dept. of Agriculture had threatened to freeze funds intended for a Maine child nutrition program, but the state’s attorney general responded with a lawsuit. When the USDA then agreed to continue the funding, the state in turn dropped the lawsuit.
Reports the Boston Globe:
“It’s unfortunate that my office had to resort to federal court just to get USDA to comply with the law and its own regulations,” [Maine Attorney General Aaron] Frey said in a statement. “But we are pleased that the lawsuit has now been resolved and that Maine will continue to receive funds as directed by Congress to feed children and vulnerable adults.”
An email message seeking comment was sent Friday to the Agriculture Department.
The settlement closes a dispute first sparked by the federal government’s decision to freeze federal funds to Maine for certain administrative and technological functions in the state’s schools.
A letter from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins explained that the decision stemmed from a disagreement between the state and federal governments over whether Maine was complying with Title IX, the federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex. Trump had accused Maine of failing to comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from sports.
Soon after the secretary’s letter was sent, Maine’s Department of Education could not access several sources of federal funds for a state nutrition program, according to the court’s written order.
Maine quickly sued the Trump administration, where the state’s attorneys argued that the child nutrition program received or was due to receive more than $1.8 million for the current fiscal year. Prior year funds that were awarded but are currently inaccessible total more than $900,000, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also said that the program was anticipating about $3 million that is typically awarded every July for summer meal program sponsor administration and meal reimbursement.
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze funds last month after finding that Maine was likely to succeed in its legal challenge.
Read the complete Boston Globe story here.
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