Following a public spat between Maine Governor Janet Mills and President Trump, the Department of Agriculture has cut funding to the University of Maine, citing ongoing investigations into whether the school violated Title VI and Title IX.

From Portland Press Herald. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has temporarily halted spending to all of the programs it funds at University of Maine System schools, a system spokesperson announced Tuesday morning.

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The university system has $56.1 million in active USDA grants, most of which support the flagship campus in Orono and agriculture programs and research, according to spokesperson Samantha Warren.

Of that, about $32.4 million was expected to be paid out in the coming months and years, Warren said. The university system is still assessing possible financial impacts and next steps. …

The USDA told its employees Monday to “temporarily no longer issue any payments or authorize any other releases of funding” to the University of Maine System while the department evaluates whether it should “take any follow-on actions related to prospective Title VI or Title IX violations,” according to a letter obtained by the Portland Press Herald.

The agency began investigating Maine’s university system for gender-related civil rights violations the day after President Donald Trump and Gov. Janet Mills got into a public confrontation over the state’s refusal to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls sports. The U.S. Department of Education said it would also be cracking down on discrimination against white students, under Title VI.

Dannel Malloy, the system chancellor, said in an interview that he isn’t aware of any “mistakes” the university system has made. …

Malloy said he is especially concerned about “the widespread impact” the funding freeze will have on 4-H and its youth.

“We’re going to hurt kids because somebody didn’t like what somebody else said,” Malloy said. “Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.” …

4-H PROGRAMS AT RISK

The USDA pays for programs and research across the university system — including sustainable agricultural and manufacturing processes, education and outreach for farmers and 4-H — through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, which runs youth programming for educational and leadership development related to agriculture. The USDA funds 42% of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s budget, Warren said. …

If the funding remains frozen, there are concerns that the impacts will extend into Maine’s fields and affect the season’s yield. USDA funding allows the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine to conduct research with the university system that helps farmers prevent disease from spreading, for instance. …

The university system responded to questions from the USDA last month about whether transgender women compete in women’s intercollegiate sports, Warren said. The university system says it complies with NCAA policy that was recently adjusted to limit competition in women’s sports to athletes who were assigned female at birth.

Trump threatened to cut Maine’s federal funding on Feb. 21, when Mills pushed back during a White House event with a bipartisan group of governors.

“You’d better do it. You’d better do it, because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t,” Trump said to Mills during the National Governors Association’s winter meeting in Washington, D.C.

Mills and the Maine Principals’ Association have publicly stated that they will not comply with Trump’s executive order banning transgender female athletes from women’s sports because it would violate state law. …

What do you think of the USDA’s decision? Share your thoughts and prayers below.

(Excerpt from Portland Press Herald. Photo Credit: Oriel Frankie Ashcroft/Pexels)