The U.S. Department of Justice has warned Maine officials that it is prepared to take legal action if the state continues to require girls to compete against boys in sports, a policy the department says violates federal antidiscrimination laws.

In a letter dated Feb. 25 to Gov. Janet Mills (D), U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the DOJ will hold states accountable if they defy federal law. Bondi cited Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs, including athletics.

“Requiring girls to compete against boys in sports and athletic events violates Title IX,” Bondi wrote, emphasizing that under the U.S. Constitution, federal law takes precedence over conflicting state policies.

The letter follows a directive from President Donald Trump ordering the Justice Department and the Department of Education to enforce federal protections ensuring that girls have equal opportunities in sports. According to Bondi, Maine officials, including Mills, initially indicated they would comply but later reversed course.

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Bondi is referring to the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) and the Maine Principals Association (MPA), two groups that have issued memos instructing Maine’s public school administrators to essentially ignore Trump’s order in favor of obedience to state law.

The MPA, which governs high school athletics, has openly flouted Trump’s order by forcing high school girls to compete athletically against high school males on multiple occasions since the order came down.

Mills confirmed last week that she supported the MDOE and MPA’s resistance to Trump’s orders in a high profile spat with the Commander in Chief.

The governor declined to answer questions from the Maine Wire today at the State House.

Bondi referenced Mills’ comments from the luncheon with Trump suggesting that the federal government’s enforcement of Title IX in this context was an overreach. However, she insisted the administration was acting within its constitutional authority.

“The Constitution requires states to follow the supreme law of the land,” Bondi wrote, pushing back against claims that the administration was behaving like “a dictator.”

The letter also revealed that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has launched an investigation into the MDOE, while the Department of Health and Human Services’ civil rights division is conducting a similar probe. If those investigations confirm that Maine’s policies violate Title IX, Bondi warned that the federal government stands ready to sue or revoke federal funding.

“The Department of Justice does not want to have to sue states or state entities, or to seek termination of their federal funds,” she wrote. “We only want states and state entities to comply with the law.”

Perhaps in anticipation of the investigations that a Trump Administration would bring, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey issued a Jan. 10 directive to some state employees at DHHS instructing them to refuse cooperation with investigators from the Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorney’s office.

This latest warning comes as the Justice Department takes legal action against Illinois and New York over separate disputes involving immigration law. Bondi said the administration “stands ready to sue states and state entities that defy federal anti-discrimination laws.”

Last month, a New York Times/Ipsos poll found that just 21 percent of Americans support policies requiring female athletes to compete against male athletes who identify as women.