Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a major legal escalation on Wednesday, unveiling a lawsuit against the state of Maine for what the Trump administration calls a blatant violation of Title IX and President Trump’s executive order banning biological males from competing in female sports.
“The state of Maine is discriminating against women by failing to protect women in women’s sports,” Bondi declared at a press conference, flanked by Education Secretary Linda McMahon, conservative athlete Riley Gaines, GOP Rep. Laurel Libby, and two young female athletes from Maine—Cassidy, a high school runner, and Stephanie Turner, a fencer who made headlines for protesting a trans competitor.
“This is a violation of Title IX,” Bondi said. “The Department of Justice will not sit by when women are discriminated against in sports. This is about sports, but it’s also about these young women’s personal safety.”
.@AGPamBondi announces a civil lawsuit against the Maine Department of Education over their consistent and willful refusal to protect women and girls in sports and other private spaces.
"We have exhausted every other remedy." pic.twitter.com/sJOlRdoa0t
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 16, 2025
The lawsuit follows a February executive order by President Trump directing all schools receiving federal funds to ensure athletic competitions are separated by biological sex—not gender identity. Maine, led by Democrat Gov. Janet Mills, has defied the order and now finds itself in the legal crosshairs.
Bondi made it clear the DOJ had exhausted all other avenues before taking action. “We have repeatedly notified Maine of its infractions and urged them to remedy the situation to protect women,” she said. “Now we are seeking an injunction and the return of titles to the girls who rightfully won their competitions.”
According to the federal complaint, filed in Maine’s U.S. District Court, the state’s education department is “openly and defiantly flouting anti-discrimination law by enforcing policies that require girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions designated exclusively for girls.” The filing cites at least three documented instances of biological males displacing female athletes in Maine schools.
President Trump has warned that noncompliant states risk losing federal funding, a position Bondi reaffirmed Wednesday. “We want states to comply with the law. Period,” she said.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon added: “I hope Gov. Mills will recognize that her political feud with the president will deprive students of much more than fair sporting events—it will deprive them of equal opportunity.”
With Title IX at stake and more states watching closely, this lawsuit could be a landmark case in the fight to preserve fairness in women’s sports—and the biological reality behind it.
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