AUGUSTA, Maine — Democratic legislators are signaling they won’t suddenly change laws ahead of President Donald Trump’s Friday deadline for Maine to ban transgender girls from competing in sports aligned with their gender identity.
Instead, some members nodded to the courts that will first handle the battle between Trump’s administration and the Gov. Janet Mills’ administration that began after the Republican president and Democratic governor clashed in February over Maine’s policies in place for years that allow transgender students to compete in sports. The tense White House exchange was preceded by Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, making a viral social media post that singled out a transgender student who won a state track and field title.
Trump’s administration then swiftly launched various investigations into Maine and its schools while also freezing or canceling federal funding and programs for the state. Mills said last month Maine’s transgender athlete policies are “worthy of a debate” inside the State House, and some Democrats signaled openness to discussing it.
It set the stage for potential discussions over the politically fraught issue amid polling that revealed 64 percent of Mainers oppose allowing transgender female athletes to compete in female sports and even progressive figures such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressing opposition to the inclusive policies in Maine, California and 21 other states.
But interviews with numerous Democratic lawmakers made clear that any nuanced debates or efforts to change Maine’s policies are not coming soon, or at least not before the end of Friday, the deadline by which the U.S. Department of Education said Maine must no longer allow transgender girls to compete in sports aligned with their gender identity.
Asked if she envisions any sort of legislative compromise on the issue, Sen. Pinny Beebe-Center, D-Rockland, kept things brief Tuesday.
“No, I don’t,” Beebe-Center said.
“It’s strictly a matter for the courts, in my opinion,” Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor, added. “Even the president deserves his day in court.”
The civil rights office in Trump’s education department initially told the Maine Department of Education in March that it had 10 days to comply with Trump’s executive order attempting to ban transgender female athletes from sports, but it then gave the state another 10 days this month and said noncompliance may result in sanctions or U.S. Department of Justice action.
Legal experts have noted Trump is making an untested case that Maine is violating the landmark Title IX law banning sex-based discrimination in education programs by allowing transgender girls to compete in sports aligned with their gender identity. The Maine Human Rights Act bans discrimination based on gender identity, and the Maine Principals’ Association has said only two transgender girls are competing this school year.
Republican lawmakers have sought to blame Democrats who control both chambers and the governor’s office for any additional loss of federal funding or punishment Trump seeks for Maine. A bill from Rep. Liz Caruso, R-Caratunk, would ban transgender female students from competing in sports, require schools to have restrooms “for only females or only males” and allow people to sue schools or athletic organizations for violating the proposal.
Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, proposed a bill to remove “gender identity” from the Maine Human Rights Act. Neither proposal has been scheduled for a public hearing yet.
Looking beyond Friday and whatever the Trump administration’s next steps are with Maine, several Democrats said they respect the need for any proposals to receive debates.
Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, said in March her panel would seek to hear from students, parents, school officials and experts about how any transgender policy-related measures “would impact Maine people.”
“That is how we make law in Maine, no matter the subject,” Carney said.
Rep. Adam Lee, D-Auburn, who is on the Judiciary Committee, also said last month he would pay “close attention” to any transgender-related bills coming before the panel.
“Meanwhile, I’m educating myself,” Lee said. “This issue presents legitimate policy questions. I truly hope that everyone can approach them with empathy and humanity and that policymakers make policy, not a spectacle.”
