In a stunning display of determination, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice have sued the state of Maine and begun a historic standoff over the issue of transgender athletes in women’s sports, with the DOJ arguing that the state’s policy on trans students violates Title IX guidelines.
For context, on April 16, 2025, AG Bondi made a public statement in which she called out Maine, a notoriously left-wing state, for its unabashed approval of transgender players on girls’ sports teams. According to press accounts, the lawsuit was met with rage and indignation from Governor Janet Mills of Maine, a noted Democrat and former attorney general of the state.
Announcing the lawsuit to the press, AG Bondi pulled no punches, saying, “The state of Maine is discriminating against women by failing to protect women in women’s sports. Pretty basic stuff. This is a violation of Title IX. The Department of Justice will not sit by when women are discriminated against in sports.”
Continuing, AG Bondi explained the basis for the lawsuit as being “about sports” but “also about these young women’s personal safety,” going on to say, “I’ve met many of these women throughout the past weeks and months, and what they have been through is horrific. We have exhausted every other remedy. We tried to get Maine to comply…we don’t like standing up here and filing lawsuits.”
Responding to the lawsuit, Maine’s Gov. Janet Mills was furious, telling the press that she would contest. Gov Mills told ABC News, “My Administration and Maine’s Attorney General will vigorously defend our state against the action announced today from the Department of Justice.”
Additionally, Gov. Mills notably downplayed the issue of trans athletes and criticized the DOJ’s response in an interview with WGME, saying, “Because there are two, maybe two, trans athletes competing in Maine schools right now, they decided to shut off funding for the school nutrition program, the school lunch program, entirely.”
The DOJ’s lawsuit was preceded by a tense standoff between Gov. Mills and President Trump at a White House meeting in February. According to press accounts, President Trump brought up his executive order banning trans athletes from women’s sports and asked Gov. Mills, “Are you not going to comply with that?” To which the governor reportedly declined.
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In response, President Trump told Gov. Mills that the consequences for not complying with the executive order would be dire, saying, “Well, you better do it. You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.” Gov. Mills smugly replied, “See you in court.” President Trump responded, “Good. I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be an easy one. And enjoy your life after, governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
Watch AG Bondi announce the lawsuit against Maine:
Featured image credit: screenshot from the embedded video