The Trump administration has reversed its decision to withhold funding for Maine’s school meal initiatives after a federal court stepped in. This action was initially a punitive measure because Maine declined to discriminate against transgender individuals by prohibiting transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports. A legal settlement announced on Friday confirmed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will reinstate access to millions of dollars in nutrition funding and, for the time being, cease leveraging school meals as a tool in President Donald Trump’s anti-transgender policies.
This reversal comes after a widely publicized confrontation in February at the White House between Maine’s Democratic Governor, Janet Mills, and Trump. When Trump insisted she adhere to his executive order excluding transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports or face a complete loss of federal funding, Governor Mills remained steadfast.
“We’ll see you in court,” she stated.
On Friday, addressing reporters, she provided an update: “Well, we did see him in court—and we won,” as reported by the Portland Press Herald.
This outcome for Maine also represents a victory for fundamental fairness and proper legal procedure. Trump’s USDA had blocked over $3 million in funds for programs that provide food to more than 170,000 children and at-risk adults in the state, alleging that Maine’s inclusive sports policy was in breach of Title IX. However, a federal judge determined last month that the agency had probably not adhered to the necessary legal protocols. To avoid a more extensive injunction, the USDA conceded.
“It is regrettable that my office had to take the matter to federal court simply to compel the USDA to adhere to the law and its own rules,” stated Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey. “Nevertheless, we are gratified that the legal action has been settled and that Maine will persist in receiving congressionally allocated funds to feed children and vulnerable adults.”
The Trump administration is concurrently pursuing a different legal challenge against Maine, suing the state over its policy and threatening to withdraw $250 million in wider education funding via the Department of Education, according to The New York Times. Civil rights proponents caution that this broader case is an element of a deliberate strategy to weaken protections for transgender students nationally and to employ governmental mechanisms to coerce states that resist compliance.
On February 5th, Trump signed an executive order deceptively named “No Men in Women’s Sports.” This order affects all public schools, colleges, and even the U.S. Olympic Committee. It mandates that institutions prohibit transgender girls and women from competing in female sports categories or risk losing federal funding. During the signing, Trump repeated disproven assertions that transgender competitors had “stolen” thousands of victories from cisgender athletes—claims unsupported by any evidence.
The American Civil Liberties Union is currently monitoring 575 anti-LGBTQ bills that have been introduced in state legislatures across the United States in 2025. These proposed measures encompass limitations on healthcare access, censorship of educational curricula, forced disclosure of LGBTQ students’ identities, obstacles to obtaining accurate identification documents, and prohibitions on participation in school sports and access to public facilities.
In actuality, NCAA President Charlie Baker recently testified that fewer than 10 transgender athletes are among the 510,000 student-athletes participating in the NCAA.