The dispute between Maine and the Trump administration has roots in the president’s push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes.

Federal officials said they were launching administrative proceedings to terminate grants to Maine after state officials refused to comply with the Trump administration's demand that Maine ban transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports.

A federal judge said the Trump administration must lift their freeze on federal funding to Maine. The ruling reads that the USDA “must immediately unfreeze and release to the state of Maine any federal funding that they have frozen or failed or refused to pay because of the state of Maine’s alleged failure to comply with the requirements of Title IX.