The Department of Justice launched a civil lawsuit against the Maine Department of Education for failing to protect women in women’s sports, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday.
“The Department of Justice will not sit by when women are discriminated against in sports,” Bondi said. “This is about sports. This is also about these young women’s personal safety.”
The DOJ is seeking an injunction and to have titles stolen from women by men returned. Bondi’s Justice Department is also considering retroactively pulling all the funding Maine has received for not complying in the past.
“I don’t care if it’s one. I don’t care if it’s two. I don’t care if it’s 100—it’s going to stop, and it’s going to stop in every single state,” Bondi said.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order pulling federal funding from schools that allow biological males to compete against women.
Bondi said the Trump administration has exhausted every other remedy to get Maine to comply.
“We don’t like standing up here and filing lawsuits,” Bondi said. “We want to get states to comply with us. That’s what this is about. We have repeatedly notified Maine of its infractions and urged them to remedy the situation to protect women. We’ve stripped grants from Maine through other departments, and we are going to continue to fight for women.”
During remarks at a governors’ event at the White House on Feb. 21, Trump asked Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, if the state would adhere to his order. Mills said she would comply with “state and federal law.”
“Well, we are the federal law,” Trump replied. “You better do it, because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
“See you in court,” Mills retorted.
“Good, I’ll see you in court,” Trump said. “I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one. And enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who also attended Wednesday’s conference, said Maine has continued to “willfully” violate Title IX.
“Governor Mills will definitely get her wish,” she said.
This article was originally published at www.dailysignal.com
