The 30,000 students in Maine's 8 public universities may be impacted by a pause in USDA funding implemented this week after the University of Maine system (UMS) refused to comply with the federal ban on transgender males in women's sports. 

The pause was ordered when it became clear that Maine would not cooperate with an executive order by President Donald Trump meant to protect women's sports from unfair competition.

President Donald Trump had said he would cut off federal funding for colleges and universities that didn't comply with the ban on transgender athletes in women's sports.

The pause is temporary while the USDA takes time to “review potential Title IX and Title VI violations by the universities.”

A temporary pause?

“An email forwarded to the University of Maine that appears to have originated from the USDA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer directs the department’s ‘awarding agencies and staff offices to temporarily no longer issue any payments or authorize any other releases of funding to Columbia University or the University of Maine System,'” A UMS spokesperson said.

“The message goes on to state, ‘This pause is temporary in nature while USDA evaluates if it should take any follow-on actions related to prospective Title VI or Title IX violations. Please take any necessary actions to effectuate this direction from leadership. This pause will remain in effect until further notice.'”

The spokesperson claimed that UMS was “in compliance with relevant state and federal laws and that UMS universities are members of the NCAA.”

In 2024, UMS got more than $29 million from the USDA.

The funds paid for scholarships in fields like agriculture, food science, and related majors. It is unclear what will happen to students receiving these scholarships if UMS doesn't go along with the transgender sports ban.

Overwhelming agreement

In a New York Times/IPSOS poll, 79% of Americans said they agree with Trump that transgender athletes should be kept out of women's sports.

At the NCAA level, biological males often dominate women's sports because of their naturally greater strength, speed and agility.

It's a pretty simple issue that could cost a lot of students the chance to get a college education, if the pause persists.

We will now see how much woke college administrators are willing to screw students at their institutions in order to prove a point.