AUGUSTA, Maine — Federal funds that pay the salaries of Maine workers who administer school food programs were paused this week in the latest volley of President Donald Trump’s battle with Gov. Janet Mills over the state’s transgender athlete policies.
The fallout came as a result of a U.S. Department of Agriculture move announced Wednesday in a letter from Secretary Brooke Rollins to the Democratic governor, saying the department was targeting “certain administrative and technological functions in schools” and not touching federal nutrition programs or those that provide direct assistance to Mainers.
On Friday, the Maine Department of Education said the pause affects money used to pay the salaries of state workers who oversee USDA nutrition programs including the National School Lunch Program as well as other grants programs that take effect outside of schools.
The USDA’s move was “sneaky” after Rollins’ letter said the pause would not directly affect nutrition programs, Anna Korsen, the policy director for the Maine nonprofit group Full Plates Full Potential. She said the state can pay the salaries of a relatively small group of workers for now, but it’s unclear how long the state will be able to do that.
“This is concerning, and it appears to be highly illegal,” Korsen said.
The latest freeze likely puts Maine and the federal government on a collision course for the courts. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from the 1st District, blasted the Trump administration’s move in a Thursday night post on Facebook. A USDA spokesperson referred a reporter to a news release issued earlier in the week.
It’s unclear exactly how much money has been frozen. The Maine Department of Education got $92.7 million from the USDA in the most recent fiscal year. Almost all of that — roughly $86.6 million — was for direct reimbursements of school meals. That money is still accessible to the state, Teboe said in a statement.
The six-week feud that kicked off with a war of words between Trump and Mills at the White House has upended state politics. The federal government has launched several investigations into Maine, using an untested interpretation of Title IX to claim that the state’s policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports violates the anti-discrimination law.
The USDA had already played a key role in the dispute for freezing a large amount of funding to the University of Maine System last month. That was quickly reversed after intervention from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation.
Rollins is using similar methods to pressure California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, to change laws in his state The secretary’s letter to Mills said her department’s latest actions were “only the beginning” of what could happen if it does not ban transgender girls from sports.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration gave Maine another 10 days to do that or said the state will face potential enforcement actions from the U.S. Department of Justice. More than 20 other states have athletic policies similar to the ones here.
The Democratic-led Legislature will soon consider Republican bills that would bar transgender athletes from scholastic sports in different ways, but hearings have not been scheduled yet.