Standing Up
My home state and my alma mater are much in the news these days. I am proud of them both.
Last Friday, Maine said no. In the face of increasingly bellicose demands by the Trump administration, the state will not ban transgender girls from high school sports. In the eight weeks since Governor Janet Mills and President Donald Trump had words on the subject at a White House event, the Department of Education has moved to end all federal funding to K-12 schools and referred the case to the Department of Justice; the Department of Agriculture has paused funding and is reviewing all research and education programs going back to the Biden administration; and the Department of Health and Human Services has referred its case to the Department of Justice. Yesterday, the Justice Department filed suit against Maine. That’s a lot of firepower. The state has 45,000 student athletes, of which two identify as transgender. There are twice as many cabinet-level departments coming after them.
Mills’ decision was not an easy one. Federal funding underwrites 10% of Maine’s education budget. In the minds of many Mainers, the state is sacrificing millions of dollars for an unpopular policy that benefits an infinitesimal number of people. With the economy reeling from tariff whiplash, the withholding of these funds will bring a lot of pain.
But let’s not fool ourselves. This isn’t about high school athletics. It’s about singling out a vulnerable group and marginalizing its members in the pursuit of power. We have seen it again and again in the last few months. And it will not end here.
That’s what Harvard discovered on Monday. In response to its initial appeasement efforts, the government sent a five-page letter demanding that Harvard essentially cede control over major components of the university and its programs. Then, and only then, would the government consider restoring some of the $9 billion in federal grants it has withheld. If you think Harvard can be arrogant, you should read this letter. Although money is a huge driver for Harvard, the university finally and firmly said no. The Trump administration immediately froze $2 billion in funding, and President Trump personally threatened Harvard’s tax status. This is the road to totalitarianism
So, what are some takeaways from all this?
Are Maine and Harvard the beginning of a trend among states and universities to refuse to capitulate to big government demands? Or will they be outliers of a movement that fizzles?
More hopefully, this unseemly process has forced both Maine and Harvard to come to terms with the difficult relationship between principles and money. Money matters, and a lot of it is at stake here. But as we are already seeing with other universities, corporations, and law firms, it’s a Faustian bargain to sell your soul.
Whose money is it anyway? The Department of Education’s? The president’s? Or the people’s?
Yes, there’s waste in government, as we are witnessing right now; but the funds distributed to such entities as Maine and Harvard are not gifts bestowed by some capricious potentate. They are investments in our country and its future.
In a democracy, it is not the prerogative of the executive branch to overrule existing state laws or to dictate what its citizens can read or think.
To all my friends who rail against the excesses of big government, what we are watching now, in real time, is the most massive executive overreach since we declared independence from George III in 1776.
It’s easy to stand up for things that are popular. It’s essential to stand up for those that are not.