Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze funds intended for a Maine child nutrition program that were suspended amid a disagreement between the state and the president over transgender athletes.

District Court Judge John Woodcock issued a temporary restraining order on Friday in a case brought by the state of Maine against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

An email message seeking comment was sent Saturday to the Agriculture Department.

At issue was the freezing of federal funds to Maine for certain administrative and technological functions in the state’s schools. A letter from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins explained the decision stemmed from a disagreement between the state and federal governments over whether Maine was complying with Title IX, the federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex.

Soon after the secretary’s letter was sent, Maine’s Department of Education could not access several sources of federal funds for a state nutrition program, according to the court’s written order.

The lawsuit, brought by state Attorney General Aaron Frey, states that the child nutrition program received or was due to receive more than $1.8 million for the current fiscal year. Prior year funds that were awarded but are currently inaccessible total more than $900,000, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also says that the program was anticipating about $3 million that is typically awarded every July for summer meal program sponsor administration and meal reimbursement.

The dispute between Maine and the Trump administration has roots in the president’s push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes. In February, the president and governor sparred during a meeting at the White House. As the president discussed an executive order on transgender athletes, he sought out Gov. Janet Mills and asked her if she’d comply with it.

She told him she’d comply with state and federal law.

“You’d better comply,” Trump warned. “Otherwise, you’re not getting any federal funding.”

To which Mills replied, “See you in court.”

Since the confrontation, Trump has demanded an apology from the Maine governor. “We need a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again, before this case can be settled,” he wrote on social media.

President Trump addresses Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills after she said, “See you in court” over the issue of trans women in sports at a meeting of governors at the White House on Feb. 21.
Following the fallout, the Trump administration has also initiated multiple investigations into Maine, citing concerns over Title IX, which prohibits discrimination in education based on sex, Maine Public Radio reported. That includes the Education Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The USDA got involved earlier this month. In a letter on April 2, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Mills that USDA funding for certain administrative and technological functions in schools will be paused in response to the governor’s “defiance of federal law.”