U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is threatening to sue Maine for refusing to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender athletes from competing on girls' sports teams, the latest part of a larger effort to compel the state to obey his edict.
Maine is among at least three other states to be "put on notice" by Bondi, a longtime ally of Trump who was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate despite concerns that she would use her position to carry out the president's political agenda.
California and Minnesota also received a litigation threat.
All three states have argued that complying with Trump's order would violate their respective laws. In Maine, that law is the Human Rights Act, which was updated in 2021 to add gender identity protections.
The letter follows three investigations into Maine launched by the Trump administration which stem from last week's confrontation between the president and Gov. Janet Mills over the issue.
During that exchange Trump asserted that his administration is “the federal law” before telling Mills that he would yank the state's federal funding.
“You’d better do it,” Trump said. “You’d better do it, because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
“See you in court,” Mills replied.
Bondi asserts in her letter that Maine's policy contradicts Title IX, a 1972 law that gave women greater opportunities and legal protections to compete in athletics.
The president has vowed to withhold Maine's share of federal funding until it complies. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has said that carrying out that threat will be illegal, and his office will fight it.
Bondi was confirmed earlier this month by the U.S. Senate in a vote that largely fell along party lines. Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins backed her confirmation, while independent U.S. Sen. Angus King opposed it.
