USDA investigating University of Maine for state’s alleged Title IX violations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Sunday that it is performing a compliance review of the University of Maine after the state declined to follow President Donald Trump’s executive order on transgender athletes competing in girls and women's sports, "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports."

USDA notified the University of Maine System of the investigation in a letter addressed to the Office of Governor Janet Mills, Danell Malloy the Chancelor of the University of Maine System, and the Office of the Attorney General.

The University of Maine is a federally funded land-grant intuition that was originally founded when President Abraham Lincoln gave each state at least 30,000 acres of federal land to start colleges that would bolster scientific and agricultural research in higher education. According to the USDA, the University of Maine receives over $100 million in USDA funding. The press release said compliance with federal law is mandatory for institutions to continue receiving taxpayer-funded support, including USDA grants.

This news comes after the NCAA already changed its policy on transgender athletes to be in compliance with Trump's executive order.

A spokesperson for the University of Maine said in a statement provided to Maine's Total Coverage on Sunday night, "The University of Maine System appreciates the media making us aware of the USDA’s letter, which recognizes our flagship’s record of success in securing funding from that agency but notably makes no allegations of any wrongdoing. Maine’s public universities will continue to comply with all relevant State and Federal laws and cooperate with any compliance reviews to ensure postsecondary educational opportunities and high-impact research continue to benefit our students, the state and this nation."