WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing the state of Maine over what it calls “Title IX” violations.
It’s the Trump administration’s latest move to protect women’s sports, following an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing on sports teams that don’t match their biological gender.
Joined by Education Secretary Linda McMahon and former Olympic swimmer Riley Gaines, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the civil suit filed against Maine’s Education Department for “failure to comply with federal law.” She added that the DOJ would not sit by while women are discriminated against in sports.
Bondi said, “If one young woman is in jeopardy – one – that’s enough for us to be standing up here. One. No boy will be undressing in a girl’s locker room. No boy will be walking in a woman’s restroom. And no boy, when we’re finished with this, will be beating young girls in sports!”
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The DOJ lawsuit stems from President Trump’s February executive order that calls for investigating schools that fail to preserve the integrity of female sports.
Bondi used the example of a biological male who won first place in the pole vault during a Maine track and field meet. She emphasized that while the competitor beat every other girl by a significant margin, the athlete also took a scholarship away from a young woman.
In 2024, a trans athlete competing in a Maine women’s ski and cross-country event came in first place with a time that would have been 43rd in the men’s competition.
Former college athlete turned women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines said, “Over the past three years, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to countless girls in Maine and again across the country, countless parents, coaches who all virtually say the same thing. Why wouldn’t anyone protect my athlete? Why wouldn’t anyone protect my daughter?”
“I’ve talked to girls who have lost roster spots, of course, podium finishes. I’ve talked to girls who have been exploited,” Gaines said.
Last week, after the Trump administration cut funding and grants for schools statewide, Maine secured a temporary restraining order blocking interference with the state’s access to federal funds.
Bondi says Wednesday’s action against Maine could be repeated in other states like Minnesota and California if they continue to violate the Trump executive order.
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