The conflict centered around President Trump's administration and Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat. Trump's administration froze approximately $3 million in federal funds to Maine, citing the state's refusal to comply with an executive order barring transgender athletes from women's sports. Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey filed a lawsuit in response.
The frozen funds supported food preparation in schools and childcare centers, and aided in feeding disabled adults. The Agriculture Department, under Secretary Brooke Rollins, initiated the freeze, claiming the funds were potentially wasteful. Frey argued that this action directly harmed vulnerable populations.
The Trump administration and Maine settled the dispute, restoring the funding. Mills stated the attempted freeze was unlawful but that the agreement ensures healthy meals for about 170,000 schoolchildren. Frey emphasized that the settlement prevents bullying tactics and underscored that the state will pursue legal action against unlawful targeting.
The Trump administration and Maine reached an agreement that restored funding for schoolchildren, Maine’s attorney general said Friday, part of a feud between the president and the state’s governor over policies on transgender athletes.
The state’s attorney general, Aaron M. Frey, said his office had withdrawn a lawsuit it filed in objection to the funding freeze, which had held up around $3 million, he estimated, and was initiated by the Agriculture Department last month. The federal dollars, Mr. Frey said in an interview, pay for food preparation in schools and child care centers, and also assist in feeding disabled adults in congregate settings.
The Agriculture Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, had said the freeze would not deprive children of food.
The conflict between President Trump and Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, a Democrat, escalated at an event at the White House in February. Mr. Trump told Ms. Mills that she had “better comply” with his executive order barring transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports. The governor, whose state has refused to follow the order, replied, “See you in court.”
The agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, cited the state’s unwillingness to comply with the executive order when the federal funds were frozen. She said in a statement in April that her agency was reviewing grants awarded to Maine by the Biden administration, casting them as potentially “wasteful, redundant, or otherwise against the priorities of the Trump Administration.”
Five days later, Mr. Frey filed his lawsuit, saying that the pause was affecting children and at-risk adults.
“The food doesn’t just buy itself, deliver itself, cook itself,” Mr. Frey said Friday, adding that the Trump administration had tried to “bully” Maine. “The message here is if you don’t follow the law and you try to target Maine without relying on any shred of law to support it, we’re going to have to take you to court.”
The White House deferred comment to the Agriculture Department.
Ms. Mills said in a statement that the Trump administration had made an “unlawful attempt to freeze critical funding.” But the agreement, she said, will preserve healthy meals for about 170,000 schoolchildren across Maine.
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