Update:
The Office of Civil Rights also issued a Notice Violation to Maine on Wednesday, which state Rep. Laurel Libby (R-ME) also reacted to.
Here is the full letter: pic.twitter.com/eEzuyR6T23
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) March 6, 2025
.@GovJanetMills and Maine's Democrat Majority are playing a game of chicken (that they know they'll lose), with hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding on the line.
— Rep. Laurel Libby (@laurel_libby) March 6, 2025
They now have a choice: reverse course or double down on their radicalism.
The nation is watching.
Original:
Ever since President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month protecting girls and women's sports from boys and men, certain blue states have refused to comply. That includes Maine, where Democratic Governor Janet Mills has been particularly difficult, and even when interacting with the president face to face when America's governors were invited to the White House. During such an exchange, threats of lawsuits were promised, and on Wednesday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt brought up how a lawsuit is indeed coming against the state.
Such a reveal came during Leavitt's exchange with The Daily Wire's Mary Margaret Olohan for the White House press briefing, who reminded how the governor "has really pushed back," and asked what the next step was. "The Department of Education has sued the state of Maine," Leavitt mentioned, also referencing "ongoing litigation" and reminding how "the president has made a commitment to ensure that states are being held accountable if they continue to allow men in women's sports, which he believes is an egregious violation of taxpayer dollars, and so that fight continues and the president won't back down."
The announcement was celebrated by state Rep. Laurel Libby, a Republican who was censured by the Maine Speaker of the House, Democrat Ryan D. Fecteau, for daring to speak up in support of girls and women in her state.
🚨 @realDailyWire’s @MaryMargOlohan just asked @PressSec about @GovJanetMills continued defiance of President Trump’s EO, designed to keep biological males out of girls’ sports.
— Rep. Laurel Libby (@laurel_libby) March 5, 2025
The White House’s response? Bring it on, President Trump will fight for the rights of our girls. pic.twitter.com/kUhLMIjAOY
The Department of Education put out a release last month highlighting how there was a Title IX investigation launched into the Maine Department of Education and a specific school district. Trump's back and forth with Mills was also mentioned.
"The letter also notifies MDOE that OCR is launching an investigation into Maine School Administrative District #51 (MSAD #51), after it was reported that Greely High School, a school under its jurisdiction, is continuing to allow at least one male student to compete in girls' categories," the press release read in part.
Further, Attorney General Pam Bondi is also looking into taking action against Maine, having issued warning letters to the Pine Tree State as well as California and Minnesota.
BREAKING: US AG Pam Bondi just issued letters to Maine, California, and Minnesota warning them to cease allowing boys to play in girls' sports or face potential legal action. pic.twitter.com/q3l26nMxGq
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 25, 2025
Polls continue to show that protecting girls' and women's sports is a popular issue with Americans, of all political persuasions. Last week, a poll from Harvard Caps/Harris showed that by 69-31 percent, voters support "Banning men who have undergone operations and hormones to become women from girls’ sports." Fifty percent of Democrats also support such a proposal.
Still another poll, conducted by The New York Times/Ipsos, showed even better results. The poll from earlier this year found that 79 percent of Americans don't believe men should be able to participate in women's sports. Even 67 percent of Democratic respondents said so.
However, virtually all Democrats in Congress continue to oppose such a proposal that is not only about biological reality and protecting women and girls, but also about common sense, as Leavitt also referenced, describing this issue as an 80/20 one, with even a majority of Democrats in support.
On Monday, all Senate Democrats voted against advancing a bill that would make Trump's executive order the law of the land, and thus the bill failed to overcome the filibuster. The bill had passed the House in January, though only two Democrats voted in favor of the legislation, and another voted "present."
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