Maine's federal funding freeze from Trump's USDA reversed

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Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) paused funding to the University of Maine System (UMS), a network of eight public colleges in the state, according to UMS officials.

On Wednesday night, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins' office said the funding freeze had been reversed, according to local outlets. A reason was not disclosed.

A spokesperson for Collins said the reversal came after Collins' office spoke with both USDA and White House officials.

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"We're deeply grateful to [Collins] for this encouraging news and eager to put the whiplash and worry of recent weeks behind us and keep up our good work to move Maine forward," Chancellor Dannel Malloy of the university system and University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy said in a joint statement, via the Bangor Daily News.

In fiscal year 2024 alone, the USDA awarded $29.78 million in funding to UMS for research, the system said. The USDA claims it has provided over $100 million to the UMS in recent years in a letter addressed to the system. 

The pause in funding came during reviews of potential Title IX and Title VI violations by the universities after the state's recent refusal to comply with Trump's executive order to keep transgender athletes out of women's sports. 

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Trump threatened to cut federal funding to Maine after a heated exchange with Gov. Janet Mills last month. That was followed up with a March Against Mills near the State House, where several female athletes took the microphone at the march to speak out against their Democrat governor.

A day later, eight activists protested outside Rep. Laurel Libby's home in opposition to her views. Libby helped ignite the contentious situation when, in early February, she identified a biological male on social media who competed in and won a girls state pole vault competition for Greely High School. Police protection was assigned to Greely High School during the controversy.

Trump reaffirmed his intent to punish states that continue to allow trans athletes to compete with girls during his March 4 address to a joint session of Congress.

Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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