After initially withholding payments for a Maine child feeding program because of a dispute between the state and Trump over transgender athletes, President Donald Trump’s administration agreed on Friday to stop any attempts to freeze those funds.
Attorney General Aaron Frey of Maine responded by saying the state would withdraw its case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“It’s unfortunate that my office had to resort to federal court just to get USDA to comply with the law and its own regulations,” Frey stated. “But we are pleased that the lawsuit has now been resolved and that Maine will continue to receive funds as directed by Congress to feed children and vulnerable adults.”
A disagreement that was initially sparked by the decision of the federal government to freeze federal money to Maine for certain administrative and technology activities in the state’s schools has been resolved as a result of the settlement.
A disagreement between the state and federal governments on whether or not Maine was complying with Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination in education based on sex, was the source of the decision, according to a letter written by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Donald Trump has accused the state of Maine of not complying with his executive order that prohibited transgender athletes from participating in sports.
According to the written ruling issued by the court, the Maine Department of Education was unable to gain access to multiple sources of federal funding for a state nutrition program shortly after the letter was received by the secretary.
The state of Maine promptly filed a lawsuit against the administration of President Trump, arguing that the child nutrition program had received or was expected to receive more than $1.8 million for the current fiscal year.
Read Also: Federal Cuts Could Hurt Big Day of Giving Donations, Sacramento Nonprofit Warns
According to the lawsuit, the entire amount of money that were awarded in the previous year but are currently unavailable amounts to more than $900,000.
According to the lawsuit, the program was also anticipating approximately three million dollars, which is the amount that is generally paid every July for the administration of summer meal program sponsors and food reimbursement from the program.
Following the conclusion that Maine was likely to prevail in its legal challenge, a federal court issued an order last month that required the Trump administration to return monies that had been frozen.
