KITTERY, Maine — A day after her home state was sued by the Trump administration, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, reaffirmed her stance against transgender athletes playing girls and women’s sports. But she criticized the president’s attempts to rescind federal funds for Maine schools.
The Department of Justice announced its lawsuit against Maine Wednesday, alleging a violation of Title IX by allowing transgender women to participate in girls and women’s sports in the state.
Collins stated transgender people “should be treated with the utmost respect” during an interview outside the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery Thursday.
“I agree that Title IX, however, was intended to expand and provide opportunities for girls and women to participate in competitive sports, opportunities that did not exist when I was in high school,” Collins told reporters. “I’m a strong supporter of the original intent of Title IX, and I do not think that it is fair or safe to allow biological boys or men to participate and to compete against girls and women in competitive sports.
“Just let me add that doesn’t mean that I think that the federal government should be cutting off funds to the state of Maine. That’s an important point,” Collins said.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the government’s lawsuit against Maine during a press conference in Washington Wednesday. The Trump administration’s complaint is an escalation from an ongoing dispute between Maine and the federal government over transgender athletes in women’s sports. The issue was a frequent talking point in President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, and Trump sparred over Title IX during a meeting between the president and U.S. governors in late February. He criticized Maine for not complying with his “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order dated Feb. 5.
“Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy,” the order reads. “It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
Mills responded to Trump by saying Maine will follow state and federal law. After Trump replied, “We are the federal law,” she said, “We’ll see you in court.”
