Scarborough, Maine (AP) – Maine officials sued the president for control Donald Trump On Monday, the government will try to stop freezing federal funds in the wake of the conflict over transgender athletes in sports.
Trump and Maine are ruled by Democrats. A few weeks of controversy Title IX Anti-Discrimination Act and the participation of trans students in high school sports. US Secretary of Agriculture Brook Rollins said earlier this month that the USDA has suspended funding for the Maine Education Program because it explained that Maine failed to comply with the Title IX Act.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey filed a complaint in federal court on Monday, describing the suspension as “an illegally withholding grants related to feeding children.” The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order that prevents the USDA from withholding money until the court can hear the case.
In a statement, Frey said the president and his cabinet “the secretary has not made a law and does not exceed the law. This lawsuit is necessary to remind the president that Maine is not bullied to violate the law.”
The Maine Department of Education’s Child Nutrition Program has no access to several sources of funding at this time as funding has been suspended, Frey said. The money is used to feed children in schools, childcare centers and after-school programs, and to benefit adults with disabilities in meeting settings, he said.
The lawsuit says the Child Nutrition Program has received or plans to receive more than $1.8 million this fiscal year. The previous year’s funds were awarded but now totaling more than $900,000, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit states that the program expected roughly $3 million, normally awarded annually for summer meal program sponsorship management and meal refunds.
USDA officials did not reply to requests for comment.
In a letter to Maine Gov. Janet Mills on April 2, Rollins said the state “cannot openly violate federal laws against discrimination in education, and hopes that federal funds will not decline.” The letter said the funding suspension would not affect the federal feeding program.
“In order to continue receiving taxpayer dollars from the USDA, Maine must demonstrate compliance with Title IX protections for female student-athletes and from the fact that they must make them appear competing or undressed before men,” Rollins’ letter said.
Tensions between Maine and the Trump administration have been simmering since February when Trump threatened Draw funds From Maine if the state is not complying with executive orders except for trans athletes in sports. Mills, who was in the White House for a governor’s meeting, told the president:
The Trump administration has it I vowed to cancel More federal funding if Maine doesn’t immediately ban trans athletes from participating in sports.
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