As the Department of Education yanks $175 million of federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania for violating Title IX by allowing males into women’s sports, Secretary Linda McMahon should also consider cracking down on other, more common procedural violations of Title IX that have been routinely committed by colleges for over a decade: that is, violations against due process for students and faculty accused of sexual misconduct.
This status quo was created by the Obama Department of Education’s 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter, which gutted protections for the accused in the name of “victims’ rights,” under penalty of losing federal funding. The letter mandated that colleges use the “preponderance of evidence” standard — which only demands that the guilty be deemed over 50% likely to have committed misconduct — as opposed to the stronger “guilt beyond a reasonable doubt” standard employed in criminal trials in actual courts. It also allowed alleged victims to appeal the result of a disciplinary hearing — a form of double jeopardy otherwise barred by the legal system. Moreover, it discouraged cross-examination of victims, claiming this would “retraumatize” them, and enabled a single-investigator model, in which the person investigating the sexual misconduct claim would also adjudicate the sexual misconduct claim and decide as to whether or not the accused was guilty — giving the investigator the near absolute power to be “prosecutor, judge, and jury” at once, as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education <a href="https://www.thefire.org/news/breaking-new-title-ix-regulations-undermine-campus-free-speech-and-due-process-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> it.
Having received Obama’s memo, colleges went above and beyond — the Constitution, that is: even after President Trump took office for the first time and then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos rescinded the Obama-era “Dear Colleague” letter in 2017, colleges kept their kangaroo courts — and began to be taken to court themselves. In two notable cases, federal courts determined that accused students at the <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/09/26/us-appeals-court-finds-student-accused-sexual-assault-was-denied-due-process" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Cincinnati</a> and the <a href="https://www.thefire.org/news/court-holds-university-michigan-administrators-personally-liable-violating-students-due" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Michigan</a> had their constitutional rights to due process violated. Per a 2019 <a href="https://nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Harris-Johnson-Campus-Courts-in-Court-22-nyujlpp-49.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> by Samantha Harris and K.C. Johnson, over 500 lawsuits were filed by accused students in the post-2011 period; 340 lawsuits went to federal court; colleges lost over 90 federal decisions; and colleges chose to settle over 70 lawsuits out of court before a decision could be made. This was around the peak of #MeToo and #BelieveAllWomen: in that cultural moment, anyone accused of sexual misconduct was essentially presumed guilty until proven innocent, a horrible inversion of the American rule of law.
Eventually, in 2020, DeVos established a rule ensuring Title IX proceedings would respect due process and treat both accuser and accused fairly. Because DeVos used the rulemaking process, rather than ruling by “Dear Colleague” fiat as her predecessor did, her decision was harder to reverse by the Biden administration. As a result, the Biden rule came toward the end of his administration in 2024, and, thanks to the administration’s overreaching attempt to rewrite Title IX to include “gender identity,” was immediately caught up in federal injunctions and barely implemented by the time Trump took office a second time and officially brought back the DeVos rule. That means that despite the change in administrations and attempted changes to Title IX by Biden, most colleges have been subject to the DeVos rule for most of the past five years.
Nevertheless, <a href="https://x.com/kcjohnson9/status/1893051067799060764" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuits</a> over the past several years have continued to be filed by accused students and faculty alleging that their colleges treated them unfairly in Title IX proceedings. Just this month, the Fourth Circuit <a href="https://www.carolinajournal.com/expelled-unc-student-can-pursue-reinstatement-not-money-in-federal-suit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> in favor of an accused student at the University of North Carolina, noting that due process, live hearings, and cross-examination are crucial in Title IX proceedings. The persistence of lawsuits from the accused suggests that colleges are still not treating the accused fairly, and, as a result, are not only potentially disciplining, expelling, and firing perfectly innocent people — mostly men — they are also undermining the validity of all allegations, which makes it more difficult for real victims — mostly women — to be taken seriously.
College bureaucrats act this way in part because they are concerned with their own interests first: the #MeToo zeitgeist of yesterday still has them convinced that the fallout from blatantly unconstitutional proceedings will be less damaging to them than the possibility of activists calling them “rape apologists” for treating accused students and faculty with fairness. The Department of Education can change this calculus by stripping federal funds from every institution violating the rights of the accused. Only harsh federal action and the potential for penalties where it hurts will show colleges that they will suffer more for presuming guilt and holding unfair proceedings than they will for presuming innocence and treating both parties fairly, as the American rule of law demands.
On a more human note, colleges are often the places where young men and young women form their opinions of the world and of each other. Especially at a time when relations between the sexes are <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2024/03/13/why-the-growing-gulf-between-young-men-and-women" target="_blank" rel="noopener">souring</a>, it is crucial that colleges be expected to follow the law if they are to continue to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars.
* * *
Neeraja Deshpande is a policy analyst and engagement coordinator at Independent Women.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Views Of Yale University As Ivy League Pay Soars

‘Prosecutor, Judge, And Jury’: Why Campus Kangaroo Courts Should Lose Federal Funding

'Prosecutor, Judge, And Jury': Why Campus Kangaroo Courts Should Lose Federal Funding

American Universities

Betsy DeVos

College

Department of Education

Due Process

Education

Obama Administration

Opinion

Title IX

University of Michigan

University of Pennsylvania

Attorney General Pam Bondi announces a lawsuit against Maine for defying President Donald Trump’s transgender athlete ban. A new report exposes glaring bias in media coverage of two illegal immigrants. And, new studies have thrown into doubt everything we thought we knew about ADHD.
It’s Thursday, April 17, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doj-sues-maine-adhd-study-revelations-4-17-25/id1576594336?i=1000703850045" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
&nbsp;
<h1>Trump DOJ Sues Maine</h1>
<div id="attachment_908933" style="width: 845px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908933" class="size-large wp-image-908933" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Janet-Mills-Stank-Face-835x576.jpg" alt="" width="835" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Janet-Mills-Stank-Face-835x576.jpg 835w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Janet-Mills-Stank-Face-300x207.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Janet-Mills-Stank-Face-768x530.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Janet-Mills-Stank-Face-1536x1060.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Janet-Mills-Stank-Face-2048x1413.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 835px) 100vw, 835px" />(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: After a months-long standoff, the Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against Maine’s Department of Education over its transgender sports policies.
The suit says that Maine is “openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law” by allowing males to compete in girls&#8217; sports. It says girls are being displaced from podiums, losing opportunities for advancement to regional and national competitions, and missing out on critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition.
In a press conference, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Maine officials, notably Democratic Governor Janet Mills, forced their hand.  “We don’t want to be suing people, we want them to comply with the law, and that’s what we’re doing. We have given [every] opportunity over and over again. The Department of Education, HHS, they went and sat down with them in person, multiple meetings, and got nowhere.”
Minnesota and California have also apparently been put &#8220;on notice,&#8221; and other states are in talks with the federal government to resolve issues with Title IX enforcement.
Governor Mills issued a statement shortly after the suit was announced. She criticized the Trump administration for the “unprecedented campaign to pressure the State of Maine to ignore the Constitution and abandon the rule of law.” Mills also accused the administration of “politically motivated investigations” into Maine that had “predetermined” outcomes.
&nbsp;
<h1>Media Bias In Coverage Of Illegal Immigrants</h1>
<div id="attachment_908935" style="width: 788px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908935" class="size-large wp-image-908935" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Media-Bias-Comedic-Graphic-778x576.jpg" alt="" width="778" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Media-Bias-Comedic-Graphic-778x576.jpg 778w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Media-Bias-Comedic-Graphic-300x222.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Media-Bias-Comedic-Graphic-768x569.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Media-Bias-Comedic-Graphic-1536x1138.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Media-Bias-Comedic-Graphic-2048x1517.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 778px) 100vw, 778px" />(Photo by designer491 via Getty Images)</div>
Topline:  A new report exposes glaring bias in the media coverage of two illegal immigrants in Maryland — one deported by the Trump administration and the other convicted of murdering a mother of five.
The study by the Media Research Center found major bias from legacy media outlets. The group found that while the outlets devoted ample coverage to an illegal immigrant deported from Maryland by the Trump administration, they completely ignored the conviction of an illegal immigrant for the brutal rape and murder of a Maryland mother of five.
The MRC report analyzed media bias in the coverage of two people: Maryland mother Rachel Morin, whose illegal immigrant rapist and murderer was just convicted on Monday, and Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant with alleged ties to MS-13.
“We have added up about 65 minutes on ABC, CBS and NBC devoted to the guy they call “the Maryland man,’” Tim Graham, Executive Editor and Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center, told Morning Wire. &#8220;He&#8217;s an illegal alien who&#8217;s been living in Maryland for a decade, but he was deported. The Trump administration said this was an error, but they didn&#8217;t really wanna fix it. Compare that to the trial that just went on in Maryland with Rachel Morin, a mother of five who was murdered by an illegal alien… you have 65 minutes on the illegal alien mistakenly deported; you have zero seconds on the Rachel Morin trial.”
Graham argued that the main factor in network news coverage was whether a particular story helped or hurt President Trump. “They didn&#8217;t wanna talk about Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray. [Rachel Morin]. When you have illegal immigrants rape a woman, or in Nungaray&#8217;s case, a 12-year-old girl, and then murder them, you can&#8217;t say, well, we only, you know, we don&#8217;t cover. You&#8217;re not gonna say that it&#8217;s a matter of who is the rapist and the murderer. That somehow turns it into a zero second story.”
&nbsp;
<h1> ADHD Study</h1>
<div id="attachment_908937" style="width: 880px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908937" class="size-large wp-image-908937" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ADHD-870x576.jpg" alt="" width="870" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ADHD-870x576.jpg 870w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ADHD-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ADHD-768x509.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ADHD-1536x1017.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ADHD-2048x1356.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px" />(Photo by Gam1983 via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: New research on ADHD is raising questions about how doctors are diagnosing and treating Americans, particularly children.
For years, scientists have believed that a biomarker – like a specific gene – could lead to a direct diagnosis of ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But research now suggests that’s false, and that ADHD is just a collection of symptoms that can be subjective and arbitrarily diagnosed. Children and adults can temporarily experience these symptoms – they can come and go – and they’re largely associated with your environment.
Additionally, children who were put on ADHD medications – which is some version of amphetamine – were found to only have short-term relief of symptoms. Compared to kids with no intervention at all, there was no difference long-term. Studies have shown that long-term use of such medications is <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2811812">associated</a> with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly hypertension and arterial disease. It can also stunt growth, which is particularly concerning since so many children are put on these medicines. Kids who took ADHD meds were<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/magazine/adhd-medication-treatment-research.html"> found to be shorter</a> than those never on the medications – and they never made up for the growth loss, according to longer-term data. 
Numbers from the CDC show that 7 million kids have been diagnosed with ADHD. Boys are more frequently diagnosed than girls, by almost a 2:1 ratio. In fact, 21% of all 14-year-old boys and 23% of 17-year-old boys have been given an ADHD diagnosis. Additionally, a growing number of adults are on these medications – the largest increase in first-time diagnosis is actually with people 30 to 44 years old.
“Fifteen percent of American youth are now on Adderall or some other ADHD medication,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cpac/reel/DFbGwY3PtMm/?api=1%2F&amp;hl=bg">said</a> during his confirmation hearing. “Even higher percentages are on SSRIs and benzos. We are not just overmedicating our children, we are overmedicating our entire population.”
New <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/magazine/adhd-medication-treatment-research.html">research</a> shows that a busier schedule – or times of higher “environmental demand” – can actually alleviate symptoms of ADHD. The New York Times report noted that jobs or college courses that were demanding and interesting helped reduce ADHD symptoms. Other anecdotal evidence found that people who say they experienced ADHD symptoms felt relief when they found a way to channel it in a field they found interesting or excelled at, which tracks with the latest research. Further, addressing general over-reliance on medications for kids, RFK is looking at how our technological habits impact our overall health, as well as physical activity and nutrition.

Janet Mills and Donald Trump

Morning Brief: DOJ Sues Maine Over Trans Policies, Media Runs Cover For Illegals & The ADHD Scam

Immigration

Maine

Media

Media Bias

Morning Wire

Politics

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Women's sports

WASHINGTON—Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a civil lawsuit against the state of Maine on Wednesday for officials&#8217; refusal to protect girls&#8217; and women&#8217;s spaces and sports per Title IX rules.
A fiery Bondi announced the lawsuit and scolded Maine leaders, noting that the Trump administration tried its best to get Maine to comply before it filed suit.
&#8220;We have no other choice, we are taking them to court,&#8221; Bondi said.
The AG was joined at the presser by Maine state lawmaker Rep. Laurel Libby (R), female fencer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/female-fencer-speaks-out-after-shes-expelled-for-protesting-male-opponent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stephanie Turner</a>, female rights advocate Riley Gaines, numerous female athletes from Maine, and others.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AGPamBondi</a> announces a civil lawsuit against Maine for refusing to protect women and women’s sports and spaces. <a href="https://t.co/6q0jtXkJwO">pic.twitter.com/6q0jtXkJwO</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1912483114351317390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
A copy of the lawsuit, which was obtained by Daily Wire reporter Mary Margaret Olohan, says the United States is suing Maine over its Department of Education &#8220;openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law by enforcing policies that require girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions designed exclusively for girls.&#8221;
The suit is seeking to get Maine to stop its noncompliance with federal law and also seeks to grant females who were passed over by males their appropriate awards.
Bondi also said the department is looking at possibly retroactively pulling funding the state of Maine received for not complying in the past.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
a case of FAFO: <a href="https://t.co/fYRF6El4Kg">pic.twitter.com/fYRF6El4Kg</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1912484747726512273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
During the presser, Bondi cited a male athlete taking first place in a state final for girls&#8217; pole vaulting, which was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/boy-wins-girls-pole-vault-championship-in-maine-days-after-state-pledged-to-defy-trump-order" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first reported by The Daily Wire</a>. &#8220;He beat every female by a significant margin, qualifying him for regional championships. That took a spot away from a young woman,&#8221; Bondi said.
Last year, another male athlete competed in female ski and cross-country races in Maine and finished first in the women&#8217;s 5k. His time would have placed him 43rd if he were competing with fellow males, a DOJ press release said.
Gaines, who spoke at the presser, thanked President Donald Trump for protecting girls and said, &#8220;Accountability is back in the White House.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Riley_Gaines_</a>, speaking at DOJ, details all the ways women have been harmed by men in their spaces — and censored for speaking out.
These abuses aren’t happening in Afghanistan or the UK, she says. They’re happening in the USA.
“Accountability is back in the White House.” <a href="https://t.co/CAAlYUj4gc">pic.twitter.com/CAAlYUj4gc</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1912487694397059358?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
In February, Maine’s Democratic Governor Janet Mills got into a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-spars-with-maines-dem-governor-over-men-in-womens-sports-at-white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public spat with President Trump</a> when she refused to comply with the president’s order barring males from girls’ sports, <a href="https://x.com/TheMaineWire/status/1904334942999363625" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arguing</a> that she was following state law.
Subsequently, numerous Maine officials and organizations followed Mills&#8217; lead and refused to comply with Title IX, sparking numerous investigations and rule violation findings.
Notably, it was found that the state also placed a convicted male murderer who identifies as female into a female correctional facility.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-trans-athletes-womens-sports-maine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EXCLUSIVE POLL: Maine Voters Side With Trump On Keeping Men Out Of Women’s Sports</a>

Pam Bondi, Janet Mills

Bondi Unleashes On Maine, Announces New Lawsuit Against State For Violating Title IX

Courts

Department of Justice

Pam Bondi

Riley Gaines

Transgender

Transgender Athletes

WASHINGTON—A special administration task force formed by President Donald Trump has launched investigations into the University of Maryland and Wagner College after they failed to protect a female athlete penalized for refusing to compete against a male who identifies as a female, The Daily Wire can first report.
The Title IX Special Investigations Team — a joint Education Department and Justice Department project — launched a directed investigation Monday into the University of Maryland over allegations that it not only allowed a male athlete to compete in the women&#8217;s category of the USA Fencing Tournament, but also allowed that male athlete to use women&#8217;s-only intimate facilities. 
The Special Investigations Team is also investigating Wagner College for its own practices and polices that allegedly allowed that male to compete in female sports and to use female intimate spaces.
Both colleges received letters from the Title IX Special Investigations Team on Monday, The Daily Wire has learned.
READ THE LETTERS TO THE <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/OCR-_University_of_Maryland_Directed_Investigation_NL-PII-Redacted-1.pdf">UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND</a> AND <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/OCR-_Wagner_College_Directed_Investigation_NL-PII-Redacted.pdf">WAGNER COLLEGE</a>
Officials black-carded and booted 31-year-old Stephanie Turner from a tournament at the University of Maryland for refusing to compete against Redmond Sullivan, a male who identifies as a woman and who formerly competed against males. USA Fencing allowed Sullivan, who competes for Wagner College, to compete in the women’s tournament, the organization <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/video-female-fencer-booted-from-tournament-after-refusing-to-compete-against-male-opponent?topStoryPosition=undefined" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> to The Daily Wire.
&#8220;The nation watched as a female competitor bravely took a knee and forfeited an inherently unfair fencing match after discovering that her opponent was a male,&#8221; Education Department spokeswoman Julie Hartman told The Daily Wire. &#8220;No woman should have to recuse herself from a match that she trained diligently for because she fears for her safety.
&#8220;As a tournament host, University of Maryland has a responsibility to follow Title IX by not allowing males to compete in female competitions and occupy female-only intimate facilities,&#8221; Hartman said. &#8220;Similarly, Wagner College has a responsibility to not allow males on female rosters.&#8221;
The University of Maryland had a responsibility to follow Title IX by not allowing men to compete in female competitions or be in women&#8217;s spaces, the Education Department is alleging, arguing that Wagner College also had a responsibility to protect female sports from males.
&#8220;Unlike the Biden administration, which weaponized Title IX contrary to its meaning to deny female athletes their civil rights, the Trump Administration’s Department of Education and the Department of Justice’s Title IX Special Investigations Team will not allow recipients of federal funding to deny women’s equal opportunity protections under the law,&#8221; Hartman said. 
<div id="attachment_907415" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-launches-investigation-into-colleges-over-transgender-fencing-scandal/president-trump-signs-no-men-in-womens-sports-executive-order-3" rel="attachment wp-att-907415"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-907415" class="wp-image-907415 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2197857257-865x576.jpg" alt="" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2197857257-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2197857257-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2197857257-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2197857257.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" /></a>Trump signs the “Keeping Men Out of Women&#8217;s Sports” executive order (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
“I want to thank God for trusting me with this mission to fight for female exclusive sports and putting me in a place to effectively protest,” Turner told The Daily Wire in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/female-fencer-speaks-out-after-shes-expelled-for-protesting-male-opponent">statement in early April</a>. During the competition, she took a knee and forfeited the match to her male opponent.
About a week after the incident, Wagner College <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/09/sports/transgender-fencer-at-center-of-controversy-after-female-opponent-refused-to-compete-no-longer-on-womens-team/?itm_source=parsely-api#!">confirmed to Fox News Digital</a> that the male athlete is no longer on its women&#8217;s team.
The Trump administration created the Title IX Special Investigations Team after receiving a “staggering volume” of Title IX complaints. Both the Education and Justice Departments have been vocal about Title IX situations in California, Maine, and other states.
The agencies repeatedly point to Trump&#8217;s executive orders protecting female student athletes from having “to compete with or against or having to appear unclothed before males,&#8221; as well as Trump&#8217;s order &#8220;Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism.&#8221; 
“Under the Biden administration, Title IX was weaponized contrary to its meaning to deny women their equal opportunity protections under the law,” Hartman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-forms-special-investigations-team-to-probe-men-stealing-womens-opportunities?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Admin+Forms+%E2%80%98Special+Investigations+Team%E2%80%99+To+Probe+Men+Stealing+Women%E2%80%99s+Opportunities">told The Daily Wire earlier this month</a>. “Schools allowed male competitors to strip female athletes of their rightful accolades, threaten women’s safety, and subject them to the indignity of unfair competitions.”
“In America, this is the women’s rights issue of our time,&#8221; she added. &#8220;And the Trump administration will fight relentlessly to protect them.&#8221;

President Trump Participates In A Kennedy Center Board Meeting And Tour

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Launches Investigation Into Colleges Over Transgender Fencing Scandal

Stocks slow their fall as President Donald Trump stands firm on his tariff and trade plan. The Trump administration pulls billions of dollars in federal funding from Ivy League colleges over their handling of anti-Semitism. And Female athletes across the country are opting to take a knee rather than compete against men allowed on the same playing field.
It’s Tuesday, April 8, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
&nbsp;
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trump-trade-war-defunding-the-ivy-league-4-8-25/id1576594336?i=1000702668343" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
&nbsp;
<h2>Market Unease As Tariff Talks Continue</h2>
<div id="attachment_904461" style="width: 820px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-904461" class="size-large wp-image-904461" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donnie-Does-Bidness-810x576.jpg" alt="" width="810" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donnie-Does-Bidness-810x576.jpg 810w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donnie-Does-Bidness-300x213.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donnie-Does-Bidness-768x546.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donnie-Does-Bidness-1536x1092.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donnie-Does-Bidness-2048x1456.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px" />(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: President Trump is holding firm on his unprecedented tariff policy as markets swing and trade partners look to potentially make a deal.
The market rollercoaster continued Monday as uncertainty remains over how long Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs will stay in place and what they’ll mean for the cost of goods. Stocks in Hong Kong saw their worst day in nearly thirty years, plunging more than 13%. It was a similar story for markets across Europe and the rest of Asia. On Wall Street, we saw wild swings throughout the day, but ultimately, the DOW, S&amp;P, and NASDAQ each ended up within one percent of where they began when markets opened.
President Trump continued urging Americans to trust his plan. &#8220;It would be nice to serve a nice easy term, but we have an opportunity to change the fabric of our country. We have an opportunity to reset the table on trade&#8230; I don&#8217;t mind going through it because I see a beautiful picture at the end.&#8221;
Fake News: Around 10:10 yesterday morning, a popular X account posted that President Trump was considering a 90-day pause on all tariffs — that post understandably went viral. By 10:15, a CNBC guest repeated the claim, and markets soared, gaining trillions of dollars in value in minutes. The S&amp;P 500 spiked 7%, going from down 4% to up 3%. But moments later, the White House issued a statement calling the report “fake news,” and markets fell back down, erasing all of those gains.
“The market hates uncertainty,” Kenny Polcari, the senior market strategist for Slatestone Wealth, told Morning Wire when analyzing the aforementioned swing.  “It can take bad news. As long as there&#8217;s some certainty to it, the market can then adjust. But when the market remains so uncertain, the anxiety level rises, volatility rises, and it&#8217;s at that shoot first, ask questions later.”
China Doubles Down: Rather than expressing openness to a deal &#8211; as we’ve seen from dozens of other countries &#8211; China responded to Trump’s tariff with an additional 34% tariff of their own on American imports. Officials in Beijing accused President Trump of “bullying” their country, and in a remarkable twist, the Chinese Embassy in Washington posted old clips of then-President Ronald Reagan expressing his distaste for tariffs to contrast his position with the current administration’s. President Trump similarly expressed a willingness to go tit for tat, warning China on Monday: “If that tariff isn’t removed by tomorrow at 12 o’clock we’re putting a 50% tariff on above the tariffs that we put on.”
While Trump’s position has remained steady, there has been considerable backlash on Capitol Hill. A number of senators have crafted the Trade Review Act of 2025, a new bill that would require Congressional approval for future tariffs and give Congress the power to dissolve unilateral tariffs issued by the president. Seven Republicans have already joined a number of Democrats in endorsing the measure — including Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. They argue that Congress is the branch of government with power over foreign commerce and should be the leading voice on trade policy. The Trump administration said the bill “would severely constrain the president’s ability to use authorities long recognized by Congress and upheld by the courts to respond to national emergencies and foreign threats.” President Trump threatened to veto the legislation if it’s passed. 
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<h2>Trump Administration Suspends University Grants</h2>
<div id="attachment_904463" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-904463" class="size-large wp-image-904463" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Harvard-Campus-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Harvard-Campus-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Harvard-Campus-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Harvard-Campus-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Harvard-Campus-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Harvard-Campus-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />(Photo by janniswerner via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: The Trump administration is suspending hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding for elite colleges and universities over their handling of anti-Semitism and DEI programs. 
The administration revoked grants to various American universities, mostly those issued under the Department of Health and Human Services umbrella for research projects. The White House says schools are not eligible for this taxpayer money if they fail to protect Jewish students and uphold new civil rights standards, which includes doing away with race-based admissions.
“The President has made it incredibly clear that he expects that students who are going to universities can go to a safe campus without discrimination,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Fox News last week. “What we saw across Columbia and other universities was that the universities were not living up to that. I mean, when you see students barricaded in the library, people pounding on the glass, saying, &#8216;Death to USA, Death to Israel&#8217;…a lot of the Jewish interaction on campus has been driven underground, and that&#8217;s just not the way our education should be.”
Columbia University was the first school to have its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-shuts-off-spigot-for-numerous-research-grants-at-princeton">funding suspended</a> in early March, to the tune of $400 million. The campus was an epicenter of unrest during anti-Israel protests last year. The University of Pennsylvania, Trump’s alma mater, is losing about $175 million in federal funding over a biological male swimmer who previously competed on the women&#8217;s team. The school still hasn’t changed its policy on transgender athletes. $210 million in research grants to Princeton University were halted last week over charges of anti-Semitism, and $510 million in funding to Brown University was cut for the same reason.
Harvard University currently has $9 billion in grants and contracts under review pending an investigation into its handling of anti-Semitism. Former Harvard President Larry Summers commented to the Wall Street Journal that if Harvard folds, every school will. But so far, Harvard has been threading the needle carefully. Harvard’s current president, Alan Garber, acknowledged the anti-Semitism problem on campus and warned that losing $9 billion would &#8220;halt life-saving research and imperil scientific innovation.&#8221; It’s still unclear if the school will comply with all of the new federal standards.
Christopher Eisgruber, president of Princeton, told <a href="https://x.com/business/status/1907766531745853812">Bloomberg News</a> that this funding “has been fundamental to the excellence of American research universities, and it has contributed tremendously to the prosperity, health and security of our country.”  On Sunday, Eisgruber told <a href="https://x.com/business/status/1907766531745853812">NPR</a> that the funding halt was “a threat to academic freedom” and the “greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare.”
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<h2>New Title IX Task Force</h2>
<div id="attachment_904465" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-904465" class="size-large wp-image-904465" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Title-IX-Task-Force-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Title-IX-Task-Force-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Title-IX-Task-Force-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Title-IX-Task-Force-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Title-IX-Task-Force-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Title-IX-Task-Force-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Title-IX-Task-Force-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Title-IX-Task-Force-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Despite Trump’s executive orders against biological males in women’s sports, many trans-identifying males are still being allowed to compete against women.
The Trump administration has announced a new “special investigations” team that will probe schools violating Title IX by permitting males to play on the girl&#8217;s team.  The Education and Justice Departments announced a joint task force to protect female athletes from “the pernicious effects of gender ideology in school programs and activities.” The Education Department receives a “staggering volume” of Title IX complaints. The task force will have investigators and attorneys “thoroughly&#8221; review potential violations, including males in women’s sports and males in women&#8217;s spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms.
Simultaneously, there’s been a trend of female athletes taking a stand against competing against males, and several have made headlines in recent weeks. Professional disc golfer Abigail Wilson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/most-likely-ended-my-career-disc-golfer-who-protested-trans-competitor-says-she-has-no-regrets">walked off the course</a> at a tournament in Nashville on Friday to protest the participation of a male player in the women’s division, stating, “Females must be protected in our division. This is unfair, I refuse to play.”
Stephanie Turner was disqualified from a fencing tournament last weekend at the University of Maryland after<a href="https://x.com/icons_women/status/1907487751664247154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1907487751664247154%7Ctwgr%5E2cec98633dfd3b71e0297338e34237489f9fe9e7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fvideo-female-fencer-booted-from-tournament-after-refusing-to-compete-against-male-opponent"> forfeiting</a> a match against Redmond Sullivan. Sullivan used to compete as a male, but after switching to the female division, he won first place at the Connecticut Division Junior Olympic Qualifiers. Turner told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsbod8p6SJQ">Fox and Friends</a>: “Women’s sports are designed to demonstrate female athletic excellence and that gets lost when there are men in the tournament.”
A UN <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/10/23/world-news/un-reveals-how-many-female-athletes-have-lost-medals-to-trans-opponents-in-explosive-report/">report</a> found last year that “over 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals [to men] in 29 different sports.”
Last week, the Department of Agriculture <a href="https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/04/02/usda-freezes-funding-promises-further-action-if-maine-continues-violating-federal-law#:~:text=USDA%20Freezes%20Funding%2C%20Promises%20Further%20Action%20If%20Maine%20Continues%20Violating%20Federal%20Law,-Published%3A&amp;text=(WASHINGTON%2C%20D.C.%2C%20April%202,for%20certain%20Maine%20educational%20programs.">paused</a> federal funding to Maine’s athletic programs following Democratic Governor Janet Mills’ refusal to comply with President Trump’s executive order on Title IX. On Monday, Maine’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging the funding cut. It&#8217;s the first such suit over a Title IX dispute and will likely not be the last.

Golden bull and bear on stock data chart background. Investing, stock exchange financial bearish and mullish market concept.

Morning Brief: Market Unease, Defunding The Ivy League & New Title IX Task Force

China

Communist China

gender ideology

higher education

Tariffs

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump&#8217;s Departments of Justice and Education have created a joint task force to protect female athletes from &#8220;the pernicious effects of gender ideology in school programs and activities.&#8221;
The move is due to &#8220;the staggering volume&#8221; of Title IX complaints, the Education Department said in a Friday press release <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-and-us-department-of-justice-announce-title-ix-special-investigations-team">announcing</a> the “Title IX Special Investigations Team.&#8221; Both the Education and Justice Departments have been vocal about Title IX situations in California and Maine, as well as other states around the country.
“Under the Biden administration, Title IX was weaponized contrary to its meaning to deny women their equal opportunity protections under the law,&#8221; Julie Hartman, an Education Department spokeswoman, told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Schools allowed male competitors to strip female athletes of their rightful accolades, threaten women’s safety, and subject them to the indignity of unfair competitions.&#8221;
Hartman explained that creating the team is &#8220;an unprecedented action&#8221; through which experienced investigators and attorneys will &#8220;thoroughly investigate violations and expeditiously enforce Title IX to restore women’s civil rights.&#8221;
&#8220;In America, this is the women’s rights issue of our time — and the Trump administration will fight relentlessly to protect them,&#8221; she said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday emphasized that protecting women and women&#8217;s sports was a &#8220;key priority&#8221; for the Justice Department.
“This collaborative effort with the Department of Education will enable our attorneys to take comprehensive action when women’s sports or spaces are threatened and use the full power of the law to remedy any violation of women’s civil rights,&#8221; she said.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon echoed Bondi&#8217;s pledge.
&#8220;To all the entities that continue to allow men to compete in women’s sports and use women’s intimate facilities: there’s a new sheriff in town,&#8221; McMahon said. &#8220;We will not allow you to get away with denying women&#8217;s civil rights any longer.”
The Title IX Special Investigations Team includes the Education Office for Civil Rights investigators and attorneys, the Justice Department Civil Rights Division attorneys, Education&#8217;s Office of General Counsel attorneys, Education&#8217;s Student Privacy and Protection Office case workers, and an FSA Enforcement investigator.
The move complements President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive orders on &#8220;Keeping Men Out of Women&#8217;s Sports&#8221; and &#8220;Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism.&#8221;
&#8220;From day one, the Trump Administration has prioritized enforcing Title IX to protect female students and athletes,&#8221; McMahon said. &#8220;Traditionally, our Office for Civil Rights (OCR) takes months, even years, to complete Title IX investigations. OCR under this Administration has moved faster than it ever has, and the Title IX SIT will ensure even more rapid and consistent investigations.&#8221;

NCAA SWIMMING: MAR 18 Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships

Trump Admin Forms ‘Special Investigations Team’ To Probe Men Stealing Women’s Opportunities

The Trump administration and DOGE are continuing their efforts to slash federal spending, with major cuts to the Health Department announced Thursday. Trump takes &#8220;presidential action&#8221; against the elite law firms that targeted him. And, voters in Maine overwhelmingly support keeping men out of women’s sports – but the state’s Democratic governor is still defying Trump’s order to do so.
It’s Friday, March 28th, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doges-hhs-overhaul-maine-sports-standoff-3-28-25/id1576594336?i=1000701216271" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>DOGE Cuts HHS</h2>
<div id="attachment_899279" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-899279" class="size-large wp-image-899279" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/RFK-locks-in-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/RFK-locks-in-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/RFK-locks-in-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/RFK-locks-in-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/RFK-locks-in-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/RFK-locks-in-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/RFK-locks-in-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/RFK-locks-in-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: The Trump administration and DOGE are continuing their efforts to slash federal spending, with major cuts to the Health Department announced Thursday.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Thursday morning that his department will cut more than 10,000 jobs – more than 20% of HHS’ workforce.
Among others, the Food and Drug Administration will let go of 3,500 employees, though Kennedy said the cuts would not impact inspectors looking at drugs, medical devices, and food. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will lose 1,200 workers, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) 300, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2,400. The overhaul will also eliminate 13 of the department&#8217;s 28 existing divisions and create a new Administration for a Healthy America. According to Kennedy, the cuts will save taxpayer money and force health agencies to become more efficient.
“When I arrived I found that over half of our employees don’t even come to work,” Kennedy said. “As part of President Trump’s DOGE workforce reduction initiative, we’re gonna streamline HHS to make our agency more efficient and effective. … We’re gonna eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments and agencies while preserving their core functions.”
Context: America’s health care system ranks <a href="https://www.ajmc.com/view/us-health-care-system-ranks-last-overall-among-other-high-income-countries">last</a> in health among 38 developed nations, but spends 2 to 3x more per capita on each patient. HHS funding increased by nearly 40 percent under the Biden administration, as staffing went up almost 20 percent – this week’s cuts will reduce the number of employees to pre-pandemic levels.
These aren’t the only cuts being made to HHS. A day earlier, Kennedy moved to pull nearly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-government-pulls-back-over-11-billion-funding-state-health-departments-2025-03-26/">$12 billion</a> in COVID funding that had been allocated to state health departments, NGOs, and an assortment of international groups. Those funds were being used for COVID testing, COVID vaccines, etc. According to a DHS spokesman, &#8220;The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.” Instead, they say, “HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic.”
According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/about/index.html">CDC</a>, 6 in 10 Americans suffer from a chronic disease, while 4 in 10 suffer from at least two.
<h2>Trump vs. Law Firms</h2>
<div id="attachment_899281" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-899281" class="size-large wp-image-899281" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/tRUMP-SIGNS-eo-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/tRUMP-SIGNS-eo-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/tRUMP-SIGNS-eo-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/tRUMP-SIGNS-eo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/tRUMP-SIGNS-eo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/tRUMP-SIGNS-eo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/tRUMP-SIGNS-eo-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/tRUMP-SIGNS-eo-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: President Trump is taking action against top law firms that have ties to people who drove investigations and litigation against him.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order targeting the law firm Jenner &amp; Block. The order is similar to a few others he’s signed in recent weeks – it blocks the firm from entering federal buildings and revokes its attorneys’ security clearances. It also bars federal agencies from contracting with the firm.
“I just think that the law firms have to behave themselves,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/1904244385342214479">said</a>. “We have others that want to make a settlement also having to do with the elections and other things, they&#8217;ve behaved very badly &#8230; our elections are very dishonest. Very corrupt.”
A federal judge blocked one of these Trump orders earlier this month – that order targeted Perkins Coie, the Clinton-tied law firm at the center of the Russian collusion conspiracy in 2016. The judge in that case, Beryl Howell, was appointed by Barack Obama and called Trump’s order “unlawful” and a violation of the First Amendment.
The targeted firms all have deep ties to the Democratic Party and Trump’s top antagonists. In fact, Trump’s latest order singles out Andrew Weissmann. He was a partner at Jenner &amp; Block from 2021 to 2022 – but before that, he was the top deputy of special counsel Robert Mueller and is thought to have been a key player in propagating the “Russiagate” hoax.
These orders don’t appear to be final – Trump has suggested that he will negotiate with the law firms if they come to the table. When asked if his actions amounted to “coercion” by a reporter, Trump responded, “The law firms all wanna make deals. You mean the law firms that we&#8217;re going after that went after me for 4 years ruthlessly, violently, illegally? I mean, are those the law firms you&#8217;re talking about? They&#8217;re not babies. They&#8217;re very sophisticated people.”
One prominent firm in the hot seat – Paul Weiss – has agreed to make several commitments to avoid sanctions, including $40 million worth of pro bono work for causes the White House supports.
<h2>Maine Defies Title IX</h2>
<div id="attachment_899285" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-899285" class="size-large wp-image-899285" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Janet-Mills-1-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Janet-Mills-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Janet-Mills-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Janet-Mills-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Janet-Mills-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Janet-Mills-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Janet-Mills-1-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Janet-Mills-1-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Public universities in Maine are backing down from their transgender policies, but Governor Janet Mills (D) is still refusing to comply with Trump’s order on girls’ sports.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-spars-with-maines-dem-governor-over-men-in-womens-sports-at-white-house">public spat</a> between President Trump and Governor Mills over an executive order barring men from women’s sports has gone on for more than a month. Mills maintains that the EO does not carry the force of law and has stated flatly that she has no intention of complying with it.
“My issue is about the rule of law, pure and simple,” Mills said in a statement posted to <a href="https://x.com/TheMaineWire/status/1904334942999363625">X</a>. “[The Constitution] doesn’t allow [the president] him to make laws out of whole cloth by tweet or instagram post or press release or executive order.”
Congressional Republicans have been slow to codify Trump’s order on girls&#8217; sports. However, Title IX separates sports based on sex to ensure equal opportunity. Only during the Biden administration did the federal government decide to interpret Title IX through the lens of so-called gender identity. Eight public universities in Maine have already said they will comply with Trump&#8217;s order in response to the Department of Agriculture threatening to withhold federal funding over the issue.
Other departments have also opened investigations into Maine’s transgender policies. For example, Health and Human Services said it found Title IX violations and gave the state <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-gives-maine-10-days-to-comply-with-wh-block-males-from-female-sports">ten days</a> to comply with Trump’s order – that letter was sent on March 19.
“The letter stipulated that if there is no voluntary compliance on the part of Maine, it&#8217;s going to be referred to the Justice Department for prosecution,” Steve Robinson, editor-in-chief of The Maine Wire (no relation) told Morning Wire. “I think there&#8217;s a lot of ego and stubbornness here. They&#8217;re not used to being told that they&#8217;re wrong or that they don&#8217;t have the authority to do something.”
New polling from the American Parents Coalition – which was exclusively shared with The Daily Wire – shows that Maine residents side with Trump on this issue &#8212; 63% said school sports participation should be based on biological sex. 60% said they’d support a ballot measure to protect girls’ sports, including 64% of independents.

HHS Headquarters in Washington

Morning Brief: DOGE Cuts HHS, Trump Vs Law Firms, Maine Gov Defies Title IX

Department of Health and Human Services

Donald Trump

Health and Human Services

Russiagate

It has become painfully clear that Maine Governor Janet Mills’ defiance of President Trump’s Title IX executive order — which aims to keep biological males out of women’s sports — was not a momentary lapse in judgement. The now infamous “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-spars-with-maines-dem-governor-over-men-in-womens-sports-at-white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">see you in court</a>” exchange with Trump was less a conclusion and more a signal flare. 
One might think that a public showdown with the president and the threat of losing federal funding, combined with <a href="https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_b6537968-dff2-11ef-b274-9fbf7250bf7f.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">polling</a> showing 80% of Americans don’t want transgender men competing in women’s sports, would prompt a moment of reflection. But not in Maine. State leaders have treated it as an invitation to take their descent into madness a step further. 
In their latest insult to young girls in Maine and sanity everywhere, Maine’s Democratic Party chose Quinn Gormley, a transgender activist with disturbing ties to allegations involving minors, to lead the Maine House of Representatives in prayer. Gormley, formerly with the Maine Transgender Network, stepped down after a committee member <a href="https://www.themainewire.com/2023/06/board-member-of-lgbtq-nonprofit-resigns-after-complaining-about-racism-minors-crossing-sexual-boundaries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> the group of “hosting youth programs where minors engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior.”
The legislators who handed the House prayer to this scandal-plagued activist are of course the same people who <a href="https://x.com/laurel_libby/status/1894554966221521388" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted to censure</a> Rep. Laurel Libby on February 25. According to the House members, Libby committed the heinous crime of calling out the injustice of a biological male student dominating the girls’ pole vault event at the Maine State Class B Championship.  
Only a year before entering the girls’ division, John – now “Katie” – placed fifth in the boys’ competition. Instead of confronting this obvious lack of fairness, Maine’s leaders went after the person courageous enough to acknowledge reality and stand up for her constituents. 
When Rep. Libby attempted to defend herself from being censured, she was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-will-not-be-silenced-democrats-censure-maines-laurel-libby-for-calling-out-trans-sports-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly interrupted</a>, her microphone was cut, and the live feed was shut down. She wasn’t even allowed to finish her remarks before being stripped of her right to speak or vote on the House floor. The only way for her to regain her voice, the Democrat leadership decreed, was if she issued a full apology. As if tramping on Title IX women’s rights weren’t enough, the male-led legislature of Maine stripped the rights of the a duly elected representative bringing attention to this injustice in our state. Maine’s Democrat leadership has made it clear they have no intention of honoring the will of Americans and protecting women. They silenced Rep. Libby and her constituents for defending women’s sports, and continue to double down on that decision, now elevating a radical transgender ideologue – one with child abuse allegations in tow – to play pretend Chaplain in the statehouse. 
Anyone objecting to these extreme actions is likely to face the same silencing and stonewalling inflicted on Representative Libby. Less than 48 hours after the Democrat majority’s attempt to cancel the Representative, Maine House Speaker Fecteau deleted his X account. The Speaker refuses to face the justified outrage even from his own constituents.
If their views were defensible, they should defend them. But perhaps they realize just how heinous their own actions have been. It is likely that history will not reflect well on the liberal men of Maine who felt it their duty to censor an elected woman defending all women. 
Maine Democrats have chosen woke radicalism over the safety of women and girls. They’ve made a decision, again and again, to sacrifice resources for education in the state to defend an increasingly indefensible stance. Maine’s Democratic leaders are actively dragging our state in a dangerous direction – one where reality is ignored, fairness is discarded, and the rights of women and girls are secondary considerations, easily compromised for the sake of an ideological agenda. 
As of March 17, the Department of Health and Human Services has given Maine officials <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-house-giving-maine-10-035900040.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHJtLviNM_Pa98ZPiJJa1Xj2O9s8McVi9vXKXoeNyieuBVzj7ZSvVotzAmpCKJInKd8LZcKv2mLpbJXCoz2fjHBtUrSWKHbIc8Fh2k1O0all2_lz2oPpLNxjQjzL8gVQL8cYMyVClmswXH27WgedNbwOFb2efhqRwSbDbLdEEu7P" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ten days</a> to address the Title IX violations, bar trans athletes from girls’ sports, and return nearly $190,000 in federal funding received in the current fiscal year. 
Will the same leadership that elevated a transgender activist to lead the House prayer while punishing Rep. Libby for daring to speak truth about biological realities change course? Expecting them to suddenly prioritize protecting young girls now seems like wishful thinking.
We’ll await their decision. But until then, insanity reigns in Maine.
* * *
Tracy Quint is serving her third term in the Maine House of Representatives. She serves on the Taxation Committee, where she fights to lower the tax burden on Maine citizens, currently the 4th highest in the nation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

MixCollage-26-Mar-2025-01-37-PM-9289

Maine Has Checked Its Sanity At The Door

Democrats

“There is a Passion natural to the Mind of man, especially a free Man, which renders him impatient of Restraint.” — George Mason
“If I were king, I would not allow people to go around burning the American flag. However, we have a First Amendment which says that the right of free speech shall not be abridged — and it is addressed in particular to speech critical of the government. That was the main kind of speech that tyrants would seek to suppress.” — Justice Antonin Scalia
* * *
We are both third-year law students at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and we recently experienced speech suppression by university officials that completely goes against the spirit of the two figures our school represents. We objected to the idea of men in women’s restrooms — and vice versa. Fortunately, after we filed a <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/cerankosky-v-washington/?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, our school quickly reversed course and has revised the policy used against us.
We are both part of a “Scalia Law ‘25” GroupMe discussion board for students in our graduating class, and late last September, a fellow third-year law student notified the group that he had been chosen as the official law school student representative for the Graduate and Professional Studies Assembly (GAPSA). He noted that GAPSA reports to the GMU administration, promised to do his best to advocate for all law students, and informed us that he had already shared some “concerns.”
One of the “concerns” he shared with GAPSA was a proposal to add feminine hygiene products to all restrooms “regardless of gender marker.” This, of course, implies a belief that one’s sense of “gender identity” is subjective, meaning that men could access women’s restrooms. We were immediately concerned for our personal safety and found that this proposal conflicted with our religious beliefs. The proposal put forward by the other student had the opposite effect of his promise to alleviate our concerns and advocate for us.
At the end of his post, the student asked if there was anything we would like to address. We voiced our opinions, highlighting our privacy and safety concerns with his proposal. Other students agreed by “liking” our posts. We also pointed out that conservative students have just as much of a right to be represented as everyone else. Despite soliciting our concerns and promising to represent all students to GAPSA, this student responded by mocking our opinions, condescending that it wasn’t any of our “business what gender someone identifies with.” While he mocked our beliefs, we respectfully responded that, as women, it is absolutely our business if men have access to our restrooms.
Two weeks later, the university’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion slapped us with no-contact orders prohibiting us from having any communication with the student.
We weren’t notified that the student had complained to the DEI Office, nor were we warned that we could potentially receive no-contact orders. Under GMU’s <a href="https://adfmedialegalfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/CerankoskyExhibits1to12.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Title IX policy</a> at that time, the orders applied both on- and off-campus and remained in place until the DEI Office — in its sole discretion — rescinded them.
When we expressed our concerns with school officials, they tried to <a href="https://adfmedialegalfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/CerankoskyExhibits1to12.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shrug</a> it off by saying the orders were not “disciplinary” and were reciprocal, meaning the other student has no-contact orders with us. When we raised the issue that these orders suppressed our free speech, the school told us we’re allowed to have our opinions; the no-contact orders are a result of the “effect” of our speech.
They tried to convince us that there’s a difference — but if we must tiptoe around sharing our opinions because others may disagree, that chills our speech and violates our constitutional rights. With those orders, we faced expulsion from the school if the student alleged a violation of the orders. There are even state bar exams that ask if we have faced any sort of disciplinary action while at school.
As such, we decided to file a lawsuit against the school, and GMU did the right thing and settled the case with us. Officials lifted the no-contact orders, ensured that these kinds of orders would not be used to suppress speech — now giving our school one of the best policies in the country. We also received financial compensation.
Universities and law schools should be vibrant centers in the marketplace of ideas. GMU is right to change its policy to uphold the vision of its namesake that respects the rights of all students.
* * *
Selene Cerankosky and Maria Arcara are third-year law students at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Statue of George Mason on campus of George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

We Took A Stand For Biological Truth At Our University — And Won

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Bathrooms

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Gender

Gender Identity

George Mason University

Virginia

President Donald Trump&#8217;s nominee to run the Department of Education made it clear on Thursday that she would uphold Title IX as it was originally written, to protect biological women and girls in athletics and school settings.
Linda McMahon, who served as head of the Small Business Administration during Trump&#8217;s first term in office, testified on Thursday that she believed girls should &#8220;feel safe&#8221; when they went to the locker room to change and walked out onto the court or the field to compete.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Women should feel safe in their locker rooms. They should feel safe in their spaces. They shouldn&#39;t have to be exposed to men undressing in front of them&#8230;.We want to make sure Title IX, which is the law, is enforced&quot; &#8211; Linda McMahon on Title IX 
100%. Confirm <a href="https://twitter.com/Linda_McMahon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Linda_McMahon</a>! <a href="https://t.co/GEZoZ2Uuwe">pic.twitter.com/GEZoZ2Uuwe</a>
&mdash; Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1890089599499903366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We are really back to what Title IX was originally established to do, and that was to protect [against] sexual discrimination,&#8221; McMahon said. &#8220;And women should feel safe in their locker rooms. They should feel safe in their spaces. They shouldn&#8217;t have to be exposed to men undressing in front of them — I think I heard one person the other day say, &#8216;Well, the guys should hold a shower curtain in front of them so that they aren&#8217;t exposing themselves.'&#8221;
&#8220;I mean, really, that&#8217;s just not what we should be doing,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;We want to make sure Title IX, which is the law, is enforced.&#8221;
Former President Joe Biden attempted to unilaterally rewrite Title IX to hinge on gender identity rather than biological sex, but his changes were rejected in court.
McMahon also listed several key strategies she planned to introduce if confirmed as Education Secretary:
<ul>
<li>Listen to parents not politicians.</li>
<li>Build up careers not college debt.</li>
<li>Empower states not special interests.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
President Trump&#39;s nominee to run, and sunset, the Department of Education, Linda McMahon, is absolutely CRUSHING her confirmation hearing:
&quot;Listen to parents not politicians.&quot;
&quot;Build up careers not college debt.&quot;
&quot;Empower states not special interests.&quot;
Tired of winning yet? <a href="https://t.co/vi3Z3RG0rh">pic.twitter.com/vi3Z3RG0rh</a>
&mdash; Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1890082571083739475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I&#8217;m really all for the President&#8217;s mission, which is to return education to the states. I believe, as he does, that the best education is closest to the child,&#8221; she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Linda McMahon: &quot;I&#39;m really all for the President&#39;s mission, which is to return education to the states.
The best education is closest to the child.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/SacoBcC9T7">pic.twitter.com/SacoBcC9T7</a>
&mdash; Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1890063186675851335?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump has said that his end goal is to eradicate the federal Department of Education, returning the duties to the states.

Secretary of Education nominee Linda McMahon

Trump Nominee For Education Sec. Goes All In On Protecting Girls, Title IX

Girls

Women Sports

Three former University of Pennsylvania women’s swimmers have filed a lawsuit over biological males being allowed to use female locker rooms and participate in their competitions.
The students, who have since graduated, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday against their university, Harvard University, the Ivy League Council of Presidents, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The lawsuit is based on their experience with teammate Lia Thomas, a former male swimmer who started identifying as a woman and dominating female competitions.
The lawsuit, filed by Grace Estabrook, Margo Kaczorowski, and Ellen Holmquist, with <a href="https://iconswomen.com/take-on-the-ivy-league/">support</a> from the Independent Council on Women&#8217;s Sports (ICONS), was <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/former-lia-thomas-teammates-sue-ivy-league-ncaa-alleging-aggressive-push-pro-trans-ideology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provided exclusively</a> to Fox News and has been reviewed by The Daily Wire. The women are seeking damages for “pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, suffering and anxiety, expenses costs” and more for the institutions allowing Thomas and other trans-identifying men into women&#8217;s spaces and competitions, which they say violated their rights under Title IX. Title IX is a federal statute that prohibits discrimination based on sex, and was initially created to ensure women have equal opportunities for sports.
But over the past decade, schools have allowed biological men to self-identify into women’s sports, taking <a href="https://kfoxtv.com/news/nation-world/un-study-reveals-transgender-athletes-have-won-nearly-900-medals-in-womens-competitions-united-nations-sports-lgbt-gender-identity-title-ix-athletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hundreds of medals</a> from women.
The three women now suing have argued that being forced to change clothes in front of Thomas, who still has male genitalia, left them “repeatedly emotionally traumatized.” It can take around 30 minutes for a competitive swimmer to get into their skintight swimsuits, meaning the women had to spend at least that much time in a vulnerable position in front of a biological man, who was also changing.
&#8220;The UPenn administrators told the women that if anyone was struggling with accepting Thomas’s participation on the UPenn Women’s team, they should seek counseling and support from [UPenn’s student wellness center] and the LBGTQ center,” the lawsuit says.
&#8220;The administrators also invited the women to a talk titled, ‘Trans 101.’ Thus, the women were led to understand that UPenn’s position was that if a woman on the team had any problem with a trans-identifying male being on her team that woman had a psychological problem and needed counseling,” the lawsuit added.
The former swimmers also allege that the administrators told them not to publicly speak out about the situation, or risk consequences.
&#8220;The UPenn administrators went on to tell the women that if the women spoke publicly about their concerns about Thomas’ participation on the Women’s Team, the reputation of those complaining about Thomas being on the team would be tainted with transphobia for the rest of their lives and they would probably never be able to get a job,’&#8221; the lawsuit says.
The women are suing Harvard as well as UPenn because Harvard hosted the NCAA women’s championship, where Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, and 400-yard freestyle relay as a senior.
Thomas has continued to fight to be allowed to compete against biological women, even attempting to be allowed to compete in elite women’s races post-college, but a legal challenge was denied last year, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lia-thomas-loses-legal-battle-over-rules-preventing-trans-identifying-swimmers-from-competing-in-elite-womens-races" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
On Wednesday, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-trump-to-sign-executive-to-keep-men-out-of-womens-sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed an executive order</a> to keep biological men out of women’s sports.

2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship

Former UPenn Women’s Swimmers Suing School, NCAA For Allowing Biological Men In Women’s Sports

Former UPenn Women’s Swimmers Suing School, NCAA For Allowing Biological Men In Women's Sports

Lawsuit

Lia Thomas

transgender athlete

Transgenders

U.S.

The Department of Education on Friday announced that it would enforce the 2020 Title IX rules implemented during the first Trump administration.
Upon entering office, former President Joe Biden attempted to alter those rules to remove due process protections from students and to change the definition of sex to allow boys in girls’ sports and bathrooms. The Trump administration’s <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-enforce-2020-title-ix-rule-protecting-women" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> means the Biden rules are null and void.
“The Biden Administration’s failed attempt to rewrite Title IX was an unlawful abuse of regulatory power and an egregious slight to women and girls,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in the announcement. “Under the Trump Administration, the Education Department will champion equal opportunity for all Americans, including women and girls, by protecting their right to safe and separate facilities and activities in schools, colleges, and universities.”
The administration sent out a “<a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/title-ix-enforcement-directive-dcl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dear Colleague Letter</a>” announcing the move, noting that the Education Department would “enforce Title IX under the provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule, rather than the recently invalidated 2024 Title IX Rule.”
In December, the Biden administration officially withdrew its proposed Title IX rule that would have allowed biological males to participate in women’s sports as long as the men “identify” as women, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-public-blowback-biden-finally-withdraws-insane-title-ix-rule-about-gender-in-schools" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. In January, a federal court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/colossal-win-for-women-and-girls-federal-court-strikes-down-biden-title-ix-rewrite-nationwide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struck down</a> the Title IX rewrite to ensure no states followed Biden’s regulations, which also gutted due process protections for students accused of crimes on campus.
Tyler Coward, lead counsel for government affairs at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), applauded the due-process component of the Trump administration’s previous rules in a statement to The Daily Wire.
“The return to the 2020 rules ensures that all students — whether they are the accused or the accuser — will receive fair treatment and important procedural safeguards,” Coward said. “That includes the right of both parties to have lawyers present during hearings, the right for both attorneys to cross-examine the other party and witnesses, and the right to receive all of the evidence in the institution’s possession. Colleges are also required to adopt a speech-protective definition of sexual harassment that enables schools to punish genuine harassment instead of merely unpopular speech.”
“Restoring the Trump administration’s rules means that students can once again feel secure that their rights to due process and free speech will be respected while ensuring administrators have the tools they need to punish those who engage in sexual misconduct and harassment,” Coward added.

Trump Admin Announces It Will Enforce 2020 Title IX Rules, Not Biden’s

Trump Administration

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