Latest news with #MaineDepartmentofCorrections
Boston Globe
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Maine governor criticizes Trump administration for freezing funds amid transgender athlete dispute: ‘It's not rational'
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up On April 12, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration Advertisement 'The law says, if you don't like what a state or entity is doing over here, you can't take their funds away over here,' Mills said. 'The judge Friday night said, 'Stop it. No, you have to unfreeze those funds. You have to allow this program to go forward, because you didn't follow the law,'' Mills continued. 'And so, you know, the rule of law here is pretty clear: three branches of government, the chief executive cannot make the law out of whole cloth.' Advertisement Mills went on to condemn the administration's decision to withhold funding from the Maine Department of Corrections in response to the state housing a transgender woman in a women's prison. In a The department said the funding cuts will impact three grant programs: Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry, the Second Chance Act program for incarcerated parents and their minor children, and the Smart Probation: Innovations in Supervision Initiative. 'They're stopping funding for the program that allows women inmates to bond with their children. So, why would you punish women inmates over here because of something happening over there? It's not rational,' Mill said during the interview. 'What if he discovers that there's somebody on Social Security who happens to be transgender? Does he vacate the whole Social Security program?' Mills said. The dispute between Maine and the Trump administration began in February when President Trump, pushing to withhold funds over transgender athlete policies, 'Well, we are the federal law,' Trump said. Trump then said, 'You'd better comply. Otherwise, you're not getting any federal funding.' Advertisement Mills responded that she'd see the administration in court. 'When he said, 'I am the law'... my jaw dropped,' Mills said as she recounted the exchange with the president. 'And I thought, you know, I've been district attorney, attorney general, defense attorney, and now governor, and I always have respect for the rule of law. And that just boggled my mind.' 'To say that 'I am the law,' every fifth grade civic student knows that there are three branches of government and that the chief executive is required by the Constitution to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Not to make the laws, not to invent the laws…. He's not allowed to do that.... I was appalled at his interpretation that he can just reinvent the law," Mills added. Alyssa Vega can be reached at
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration to pull federal funds for Maine prisons over trans inmate
The Trump administration is pulling funding from the Maine Department of Corrections over a transgender woman who is being housed in a women's prison, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an interview Tuesday. "We pulled all nonessential funding from the Department of Corrections in Maine, because they were allowing a man in a woman's prison," Bondi told Fox News. Bondi did not provide an amount during the interview, but Fox News reported it would be $1.5 million. The inmate Bondi was referring to is Andrea Balcer, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2018 for the murder of her parents and family dog. Balcer's attorney argued that she was going through a gender identity transformation and that her parents were not accepting. Balcer had no criminal record before the killings on Oct. 31, 2016, at her family home in Winthrop, Maine. She was 17 at the time. Balcer is currently incarcerated at the Maine Correction Center's Women's Center, according to the Maine Department of Corrections' online inmate database. 'We will pull your funding, we will protect women in prison, we will protect women in sports, we will protect women throughout this country,' Bondi said in the interview. The Maine Department of Corrections released a statement Tuesday saying, in part, that it is "evaluating the impacts to services from these funding terminations." The department noted that the funding will affect three grant programs: Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry; Second Chance Act Addressing the Needs of Incarcerated Parents and Their Minor Children; and Smart Probation: Innovations in Supervision Initiative. Advocacy groups criticized the move. 'If the federal government truly cares about women, all women, they would not withdraw funding for essential programs that lead to public safety in our communities,' Jan Collins, assistant director of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, said Tuesday. Maine has already been a target of an attempt to pull federal funding. The Department of Agriculture has paused federal funding for certain state educational programs over the state's compliance with Title IX, the law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. At issue is Maine's allowing of a transgender athlete to participate in women's sports. It comes after a public confrontation between Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump, which ended in Mills telling the president, 'We'll see you in court.' The federal government then launched an investigation into Maine's policies, which found that Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association and a high school in the state were in violation of Title IX. Last week, the federal government issued a 'final warning' to the state, saying it will send the case to the Justice Department if all parties do not sign an agreement by April 11. Maine officials previously said they did not intend to comply. This story first appeared on NBC Boston. This article was originally published on
NBC News
09-04-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump administration to pull federal funds for Maine prisons over trans inmate
The Trump administration is pulling funding from the Maine Department of Corrections over a transgender woman who is being housed in a women's prison, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an interview Tuesday. "We pulled all nonessential funding from the Department of Corrections in Maine, because they were allowing a man in a woman's prison," Bondi told Fox News. Bondi did not provide an amount during the interview, but Fox News reported it would be $1.5 million. The inmate Bondi was referring to is Andrea Balcer, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2018 for the murder of her parents and family dog. Balcer's attorney argued that she was going through a gender identity transformation and that her parents were not accepting. Balcer had no criminal record before the killings on Oct. 31, 2016, at her family home in Winthrop, Maine. She was 17 at the time. Balcer is currently incarcerated at the Maine Correction Center's Women's Center, according to the Maine Department of Corrections' online inmate database. 'We will pull your funding, we will protect women in prison, we will protect women in sports, we will protect women throughout this country,' Bondi said in the interview. The Maine Department of Corrections released a statement Tuesday saying, in part, that it is "evaluating the impacts to services from these funding terminations." The department noted that the funding will affect three grant programs: Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry; Second Chance Act Addressing the Needs of Incarcerated Parents and Their Minor Children; and Smart Probation: Innovations in Supervision Initiative. Advocacy groups criticized the move. 'If the federal government truly cares about women, all women, they would not withdraw funding for essential programs that lead to public safety in our communities,' Jan Collins, assistant director of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, said Tuesday. Maine has already been a target of an attempt to pull federal funding. The Department of Agriculture has paused federal funding for certain state educational programs over the state's compliance with Title IX, the law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. At issue is Maine's allowing of a transgender athlete to participate in women's sports. It comes after a public c onfrontation between Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump, which ended in Mills telling the president, 'We'll see you in court.' The federal government then launched an investigation into Maine's policies, which found that Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association and a high school in the state were in violation of Title IX. Last week, the federal government issued a 'final warning' to the state, saying it will send the case to the Justice Department if all parties do not sign an agreement by April 11.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Justice Dept. pulls 'nonessential' funds from Maine prison system over trans inmate housed with women
The U.S. Department of Justice has pulled 'nonessential funding' from the Maine Department of Corrections because a transgender woman is being housed in a women's prison, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Fox & Friends Tuesday. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. Bondi did not state an amount, but a graphic on the Fox News Channel show implied it was more than $1.5 million. She referred to the inmate as a man and said the prisoner has been convicted of a double murder. 'They were letting him be housed in a female prison,' she said. 'No longer. We will pull your funding, we will protect women in prison, we will protect women in sports, we will protect women throughout this country.' Actually, transgender women are at risk of harassment and violence when housed in men's prisons. Maine TV station WCSH identified the woman in question, but The Advocate is not stating her name in order to protect her privacy. The Maine Department of Corrections released a statement saying it has received notice that federal funding is ending for three programs. 'The Department is evaluating the impacts to services from these funding terminations,' the statement continued. 'While the Department is aware of related public statements by the United States Attorney General, the notice is the only communication that has been received by the department.' The end to certain funding is in keeping with Donald Trump's anti-trans executive orders, Bondi said. 'We were right to do that,' she said on Fox & Friends. 'President Trump has the right to determine where the money goes, where federal money goes.' Under the U.S. Constitution, however, Congress has control over funding, while the president can propose budgets and sign or veto bills relating to them. And the order on keeping trans women out of women's prisons is being contested in court. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has paused funding to certain programs in Maine because the state allows trans girls and women to compete in female sports. Trump and Maine's Democratic governor, Janet Mills, exchanged heated words over trans athletes at a National Governors Association meeting at the White House in February. Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey filed a lawsuit Monday seeking a temporary restraining order to lift the pause, saying the federal government is withholding funds used to feed school children and disabled adults, contrary to promises from the USDA and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US attorney general says she's pulling funds to Maine prisons over gender identity
Apr. 8—The U.S. attorney general announced on national TV Tuesday morning that she is withholding money to Maine prisons after learning about a female transgender prisoner living in a unit with other women. Pam Bondi told Fox and Friends that the Department of Justice "pulled all nonessential funding ... because they were allowing a man in a woman's prison." She did not specify how much funding was put on hold. Bondi did not name the prisoner, but described a case similar to that of a transgender woman who was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2018 for killing her parents in Withrop. She was 17 at the time of the killings, but her case was moved to adult court. Neither the Department of Justice nor the Maine Department of Corrections immediately responded to requests for more information on Bondi's announcement. This is the most recent instance of the Trump administration threatening to freeze funds specifically to Maine, targeting the state's human rights laws for transgender Mainers. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey filed a lawsuit on Monday against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for threatening to withhold money used for school lunches, after the White House determined Maine's policies for transgender athletes violates Title IX. (Frey has disputed the state is doing anything illegal.) This story will be updated. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
