Trump Admin Finds UMaine in Compliance on Title IX Transgender Policy, but That's Not the End of Story

The Trump administration announced this week that it has come to a resolution with the University of Maine system (USM) over complying with the president's executive order on Title IX, when it comes to fairness, and biological men in women's sports.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) made the announcement on Wednesday:

UMS, a network of eight public universities in Maine, claims it has been compliant with the NCAA's revised gender policy to keep trans athletes out of the women's category since the NCAA's revision was made on Feb. 6, and has always followed state and federal law. UMS was subject to a temporary pause in funding from the USDA last week during an ongoing battle between the state and the federal government over trans inclusion in women's and girls sports. The funding was reinstated just days later.

The USDA now claims that UMaine/UMS is in full compliance with Trump's executive order, writing in a statement:

"After the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated a Title IX compliance review regarding federal funding, the University of Maine System (UMaine) has clearly communicated its compliance with Title IX’s requirement to protect equal opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports, as articulated in President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order."

The announcement included a warning, though, that "[a]ny false claim by the UMaine can, and will, result in onerous and even potentially criminal financial liability."

The university system chancellor, Dannel Malloy, also chimed in, writing in part in a statement:

"We are relieved to put the Department’s Title IX compliance review behind us so the land-grant University of Maine and our statewide partners can continue to leverage USDA and other essential federal funds."

Malloy added that the USDA "affirmed" in its own statement that "[t]he University of Maine System has always maintained its compliance with state and federal laws and with NCAA rules."

This move follows the entire Maine federal judiciary recusing itself from hearing a case of Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby, as my colleague Teri Christoph wrote:

Something very strange is afoot up in Maine: all of the state's federal judges have recused themselves from hearing a lawsuit filed by Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby against Democrat Speaker Ryan Fecteau, who censured Libby last month for her efforts to keep boys from participating in girls' sports.

So far, there's been no comment or action about the USDA update from Democrat Maine Governor Janet Mills, whom readers might recall sparred with President Trump at a Feb. dinner event for governors, then threatened a lawsuit against the administration after the USDA opened an investigation into Maine educational facilities' compliance with Title IX.

Maine Gov.-Trump Tussle Over Women's Sports EO Sparks 'Review' of University's Title IX Compliance

Despite the welcome news of progress, Maine isn't totally in the clear yet. In a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told Fox News Digital that it had found instances where the state and its Education Department allowed schools to violate Title IX regarding biological men competing against women--something that still needs to be resolved.

OCR acting Director Anthony Archeval explained in the statement that the department continues to wait for compliance from Greely High School, as well as the Maine Department of Education and the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA), stating that "if Maine won’t come to the table to voluntarily comply with Title IX, HHS will enforce Title IX to the fullest extent permitted by the law."

As usual, stay tuned!