Politics
Maine targeted with federal probes, threats after guv spars with Trump
Just two trans students are competing on girls’ teams in Maine this school year

Less than three weeks after Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) sparred with President Donald Trump over his executive order prohibiting trans students from competing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity, the state has been hit with sudden cuts to funding and grants along with multiple investigations led by federal agencies and threats of more to come.
The dustup, which came during a Feb. 21 White House convening of the National Governors Association, kicked off when Mills declined to say she would enforce the policy, committing only to abiding by “state and federal law.” The president then threatened to withhold funding for Maine, and the exchange ended with both parties vowing to fight it out in court.
Shortly after Trump’s order was issued, the governing body responsible for overseeing high school sports in Maine said trans athletes would still be allowed to compete because the ban conflicted with provisions of the Maine state Human Rights Act. The Maine Principals’ Association has said only two trans Mainers are competing in girls’ sports this school year.
Hours after that contentious meeting at the White House, the Maine Department of Education, the Maine School Administrative District #51, and the state’s public university system had become targets of inquiries by the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and — the following day — an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
These actions were followed on Feb. 25 by a letter to Mills from Attorney General Pam Bondi providing notice that the Justice Department was likely to soon file a lawsuit because “requiring girls to compete against boys,” or transgender girls, “in sports and athletic events violates Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972.”
Next came a decision in early March by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to pull the $4.5 million Maine Sea Grant for marine research — with ProPublica noting the agency “didn’t touch the 33 other grantees who get similar funding” — and most recently, last week’s cancellation and subsequent reinstatement of Social Security Administration contracts used by hospitals and nursing homes in the state to automatically report births and deaths.
Noting the concurrent probes led by the federal Education and Health Departments, Bondi warned that, “If these or other federal investigations show that the relevant Maine entities are indeed denying girls an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them to compete against boys, the Department of Justice stands ready to take all appropriate action to enforce federal law.”
Moreover, she wrote, because federal law passed by the U.S. Congress supersedes state statutes, it “does not matter if Maine state law allows, or even requires, state athletic associations or other similar entities to require girls to compete against boys in sports and athletic events.”
At the same time, however, Title IX has been interpreted by some courts as protecting the right of trans and gender diverse students to participate in educational programs and activities consistent with their identities, per the statutory anti-discrimination rules established under the Education Amendments of 1972.
In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sex-based discrimination as defined under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which applies to conduct by public and private sector employees with more than 15 workers, also covers acts that are motivated by the employee’s real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
The decision was cited in the Biden-Harris administration’s updates to the Education Department’s Title IX guidance, which made explicit the argument that trans students in publicly funded schools are covered by explicit protections against discrimination, that the expanded definition of discrimination based on sex applies in the context of public education as well as in employment.
ProPublica, which published a comprehensive report on Tuesday chronicling the Trump administration’s “barrage of investigations and threats” that have come in the wake of the president’s tussle with Mills, notes that the DOJ also recently sent letters to Minnesota and California warning that they would face lawsuits for refusing to comply with or enforce the executive action banning trans students from competitive athletics.
The investigative news outlet also highlighted how unusual it is for an agency like HHS to enforce civil rights laws in a way that falls so far beyond its normal remit, which has primarily and historically centered on issues of health care access, and for the federal government to appear to reach conclusions with “unprecedented speed” in matters whose investigation typically takes months or even years.
Congress
Congress passes ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ with massive cuts to health insurance coverage
Roughly 1.8 million LGBTQ Americans rely on Medicaid

The “Big, Beautiful Bill” heads to President Donald Trump’s desk following the vote by the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday, which saw two nays from GOP members and unified opposition from the entire Democratic caucus.
To partially offset the cost of tax breaks that disproportionately favor the wealthy, the bill contains massive cuts to Medicaid and social safety net programs like food assistance for the poor while adding a projected $3.3 billion to the deficit.
Policy wise, the signature legislation of Trump’s second term rolls back clean energy tax credits passed under the Biden-Harris administration while beefing up funding for defense and border security.
Roughly 13 percent of LGBTQ adults in the U.S., about 1.8 million people, rely on Medicaid as their primary health insurer, compared to seven percent of non-LGBTQ adults, according to the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute think tank on sexual orientation and gender identities.
In total, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the cuts will cause more than 10 million Americans to lose their coverage under Medicaid and anywhere from three to five million to lose their care under Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
A number of Republicans in the House and Senate opposed the bill reasoning that they might face political consequences for taking away access to healthcare for, particularly, low-income Americans who rely on Medicaid. Poorer voters flocked to Trump in last year’s presidential election, exit polls show.
A provision that would have blocked the use of federal funds to reimburse medical care for transgender youth was blocked by the Senate Parliamentarian and ultimately struck from the legislation — reportedly after the first trans member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) and the first lesbian U.S. senator, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), shored up unified opposition to the proposal among Congressional Democrats.
Congress
Ritchie Torres says he is unlikely to run for NY governor
One poll showed gay Democratic congressman nearly tied with Kathy Hochul

Gay Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres of New York is unlikely to challenge New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in the state’s next gubernatorial race, he said during an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“I’m unlikely to run for governor,” he said. ““I feel like the assault that we’ve seen on the social safety net in the Bronx is so unprecedented. It’s so overwhelming that I’m going to keep my focus on Washington, D.C.”
Torres and Hochul were nearly tied in a poll this spring of likely Democratic voters in New York City, fueling speculation that the congressman might run. A Siena College poll, however, found Hochul leading with a wider margin.
Back in D.C., the congressman and his colleagues are unified in their opposition to President Donald Trump’s signature legislation, the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which heads back to the House after passing the Senate by one vote this week.
To pay for tax cuts that disproportionately advantage the ultra-wealthy and large corporations, the president and Congressional Republicans have proposed massive cuts to Medicaid and other social programs.
A provision in the Senate version of the bill that would have blocked the use of federal funds to reimburse medical care for transgender youth was blocked by the Senate Parliamentarian and ultimately struck from the legislation, reportedly after pressure from transgender U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) and lesbian U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).
Torres on “Morning Joe” said, “The so-called Big Beautiful Bill represents a betrayal of the working people of America and nowhere more so than in the Bronx,” adding, “It’s going to destabilize every health care provider, every hospital.”
Congress
House Democrats oppose Bessent’s removal of SOGI from discrimination complaint forms
Congressional Equality Caucus sharply criticized move

A letter issued last week by a group of House Democrats objects to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s removal of sexual orientation and gender identity as bases for sex discrimination complaints in several Equal Employment Opportunity forms.
Bessent, who is gay, is the highest ranking openly LGBTQ official in American history and the second out Cabinet member next to Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary during the Biden-Harris administration.
The signatories to the letter include a few out members of Congress, Congressional Equality Caucus chair and co-chairs Mark Takano (Calif.), Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), and Becca Balint (Vt.), along with U.S. Reps. Nikema Williams (Ga.), Hank Johnson (Ga.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), and Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas).
The letter explains the “critical role” played by the EEO given the strictures and limits on how federal employees can find recourse for unlawful workplace discrimination — namely, without the ability to file complaints directly with the Employment Opportunity Commission or otherwise engage with the agency unless the complainant “appeal[s] an agency’s decision following the agency’s investigation or request[s] a hearing before an administrative judge.”
“Your attempt to remove ‘gender identity’ and ‘sexual orientation’ as bases for sex discrimination complaints in numerous Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) forms will create unnecessary hurdles to employees filing EEO complaints and undermine enforcement of federal employee’s nondiscrimination protections,” the members wrote in their letter.
They further explain the legal basis behind LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination protections for federal employees in the EEOC’s decisions in Macy v. Holder (2012) and Baldwin v. Foxx (2015) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020).
“It appears that these changes may be an attempt by the department to dissuade employees from reporting gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination,” the lawmakers wrote. “Without forms clearly enumerating gender identity and sexual orientation as forms of sex discrimination, the average employee who experiences these forms of discrimination may see these forms and not realize that the discrimination they experienced was unlawful and something that they can report and seek recourse for.”
“A more alarming view would be that the department no longer plans to fulfill its legal obligations to investigate complaints of gender identity and sexual orientation and ensure its
employees are working in an environment free from these forms of discrimination,” they added.
-
Virginia1 day ago
Defying trends, new LGBTQ center opens in rural Winchester, Va.
-
South Africa4 days ago
Lesbian feminist becomes South African MP
-
Travel3 days ago
Manchester is vibrant tapestry of culture, history, and Pride
-
Opinions2 days ago
USAID’s demise: America’s global betrayal of trust with LGBTQ people