The Maine Department of Corrections said Tuesday that the Department of Justice has terminated federal funding for several grant programs after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told “Fox and Friends” the cuts were because a transgender woman was incarcerated in a woman’s prison.
The DOC said that while it “is aware of related public statements” by Bondi, the department was only provided with a brief communication from the Department of Justice, which states that the awards are being terminated because they “no longer effectuate the program goals or agency priorities,” echoing the language of other notices sent by the Trump administration.
The terminated grants help pay for drug treatment for adults in reentry, programs that foster engagement between incarcerated parents and their children, and resources for corrections agencies to improve post-release supervision in order to prevent recidivism and reduce crime.
During her appearance on Fox, which was first reported by the Portland Press Herald, Bondi said the Justice Department was terminating “nonessential” programs because of the state policy related to transgender detainees, which it approaches on a case-by-case basis.
The DOC said it is evaluating the impacts to services from these funding terminations.
The notice of the cuts comes one day after Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture for freezing funds because of the state’s alleged violation of Title IX in educational programming.
Title IX does not reference trangender people directly, but the Trump administration has interpreted Maine’s policy allowing trans students to compete in athletics that align with the gender identity as discrimination against cisgender girls.
In the complaint, Frey argues that the freeze is unlawful because it did not follow the legal process to alter congressionally appropriated funds, including a regulation from the USDA to hold a hearing and issue a formal decision before terminating funds.
Several other federal agencies have launched investigations into Maine since Gov. Janet Mills got into a heated confrontation with President Donald Trump over the state’s protections for transgender student athletes.
Both the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services determined Maine’s polices allowing transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports, which is supported by the Maine Human Rights Act, violate federal protections against sex-based discrimination in schools.
The U.S. DOE gave Maine a deadline of April 11 to propose an agreement that’s acceptable to the office or said the case will be referred to the Department of Justice.
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