U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon addressed a Fox News Digital report that the Maine education commissioner undermined President Donald Trump's executive orders in emails to schools.
McMahon shared the report in a post on X Tuesday, referencing the Trump administration's lawsuit against the state for defying Title IX.
"Deliberately defying federal law is exactly why [the Department of Education] found Maine in violation of Title IX- and why DOJ is continuing its lawsuit against the state. If you ignore federal law, there will be consequences," McMahon wrote.
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Emails obtained by Fox News Digital show Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin drafted multiple memos for schools that suggested the schools follow Maine state law and not comply with Trump's January executive orders that addressed public education.
"Last week, we advised schools to adhere to the Maine Human Rights Act and your local school board policies related to nondiscrimination. We encourage you to continue to keep all people safe and we reiterate the fact that, at present, neither our state law nor your local policies are diminished by the executive orders directing action at the federal level, one memo read, as seen in a Jan. 28 email.
"Most of the executive orders pertain to federal agencies and federal laws over which Maine DOE has no authority."
Makin corresponded with Maine Assistant Attorney General Sarah Forster, with a draft of a memo to schools. The memo included orders to avoid complying with Trump's "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling," executive order, in a Jan. 30 email.
"… this EO changes nothing for Maine schools," part of an email discussing the memo wrote. The memo draft said "Maine schools should continue to follow the laws of our state and the provisions within their local policies."
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Then, in a Jan. 31 email, Makin drafted another memo to superintendents and school leaders addressing the executive order.
"The Executive Order does not alter the obligations of schools under state law, including the Maine Human Rights Act, and does not require any immediate changes to locally adopted school board policies," the memo read.
Maine state representative Laurel Libby addressed the report in an interview with "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday morning.
"I'm not surprised at all," Libby said, later adding, "It's a woke agenda with which most Mainers don't agree. They don't agree that biological males should be participating in girls' sports. They don't agree that the focus should be on DEI and social emotional learning."
Maine and Governor Janet Mills have been in a feud with Trump's administration since February after the state became one of the first to openly defy Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order. The defiance resulted in a trans athlete winning a girls pole vault competition in February, and then an in-person verbal spat between Trump and Mills at a Feb. 21 White House meeting of governors.
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a lawsuit against Mills and the state for defying Title IX, which is set to go to trial in January 2026.
A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it is "only fair to restrict women's sports to biological women."
The poll also found that 60% of residents would support a ballot measure limiting participation in women's and girls sports to biological females. This included 64% of independents and 66% of parents with children under age 18.
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