Rep. Jennifer Poirier, R-Skowhegan, and House Minority Leader Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, at a news conference Tuesday at the Maine State House where Republican lawmakers called on the governor and her fellow Democrats to avoid a legal battle with the Trump administration by changing the state’s policy regarding transgender athletes. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The U.S. Department of Education issued a “final warning” to Maine’s Department of Education Monday, saying the Trump administration’s next step is legal action if state officials do not ban transgender athletes from girls high school sports.

On Tuesday, Republican lawmakers called on Gov. Janet Mills and Democrats to move quickly to comply with President Donald Trump’s demands and avoid a court battle and the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

The federal education department originally gave Maine officials until Saturday to sign an agreement that would alter state policies and bar transgender women from accessing any locker rooms or athletic programs “designated for females” and to align its definitions of “man” and “woman” with the president’s Jan. 20 executive order decreeing there to be only “two sexes,” saying they are determined at conception and cannot be changed.

Though the order espoused that “truth is critical to scientific inquiry,” the designation of only two sexes ignores established medical principles, which recognize a range of chromosomal variation beyond the most common XX and XY chromosomes. Such variations can result in an individual possessing a mixture of sexual traits, sometimes referred to as being intersex, according to the Cleveland clinic.

The Trump administration argues that Maine’s policy allowing transgender students to compete in girls high school sports violates Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs that receive federal funding. The legal theory has yet to be tested in court.

In a letter sent Monday, Bradley Burke, regional director of the U.S. DOE’s Office of Civil Rights, gave Maine another 10 days to respond to the agreement.

“If no such resolution agreement has been executed by close of business April 11, 2025, OCR will issue a letter of impending enforcement action to MDOE and concurrently refer this matter to the Department of Justice for enforcement,” Burke wrote.

Trump has threatened to withhold all federal funding from Maine if the state does not comply, although the administration’s investigations so far have focused on funding linked to Title IX compliance.

At a news conference at the Maine State House Tuesday, Republicans lawmakers called on Mills and her fellow Democrats to comply with Trump’s order and fast-track hearings and votes on their proposals to remove gender identity from the list of protected classes in the Maine Human Rights Act.

Mills and officials who oversee youth sports have pointed to that law as the reason Maine cannot simply ban transgender athletes as the president has demanded.

Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, said he believes Mills could comply with Trump’s executive order even if the Legislature does not change the law, but he urged lawmakers to act on a slate of bills to clear up state statutes on the matter.

“They could hear (a bill) today. We could schedule it for Thursday and this whole thing could be wrapped up,” Stewart said. “Instead, I know what’s going to happen unfortunately: My Democratic colleagues are going to drag their heels on this bill like they have every single other bill that deals with this issue.”

Republicans pointed to a poll released last week by the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center that showed 64% of Mainers surveyed do not support allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports and 51% do not support transgender men playing in men’s sports.

Aides for Mills and House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday about whether they would fast-track the bills. A spokesperson for Sen. President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, said hearing schedules are left up to committee chairs.

House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, accused Mills of creating “a hostage situation” by defying Trump and risking more than $200 million in federal funding.

“This standoff is not going to end well for the state of Maine and its education funding,” Faulkingham said. “We came here today to essentially call on the governor to stop this misguided battle against the federal government, to uphold Title IX and comply with the orders coming down from the executive branch.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week referred its own Title IX investigation into Maine to the Justice Department. DHHS, which started its investigation Feb. 21 and completed it four days later, also gave Maine 10 days to sign an agreement.

DHHS did not offer a “final warning” with a second 10-day window, instead referring the case to the Justice Department the day after its deadline passed.

The investigations were among several into Maine and local entities launched by federal agencies following a viral clash between Mills and Trump at a White House event in February.

Trump publicly called out Mills during the event and demand she comply with his order, to which Mills said that she is following the law. “We are the federal law,” Trump said. “See you in court,” Mills replied.

Maine receives more than $280 million from the federal Department of Education, which funds programs including special education.

A spokesperson for the Maine DOE deferred all questions to the Office of the Maine Attorney General, which declined to comment.

This story was corrected Wednesday, April 2, to clarify which programs the U.S. Department of Education funds.