Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has repeatedly called several of President Donald Trump’s most high-profile decisions illegal. And he hasn’t shied away from attacking these actions in court.

Frey has joined a coalition of Democratic attorneys general in several multistate lawsuits against the administration since Trump returned to office in January, tackling immigration issues, access to federal funding and the right to privacy.

The state is also responding to two Title IX investigations, alleging its transgender sports policy violates federal law. Both the federal departments of Education and the Health and Human Services told the state to respond to their investigations and sign agreements, or face action by the Department of Justice.

Here’s a breakdown on the latest federal lawsuits involving Maine and the Trump administration:

TITLE IX AND THE USDA

April 7, 2025 | DISTRICT OF MAINE

In Maine’s first solo lawsuit against the Trump administration, Frey filed a federal complaint against the Department of Agriculture in federal court after Secretary Brooke Rollins froze federal funds used to feed Maine school children.

Rollins announced her decision to withhold funding to Maine schools after the Trump administration said Maine was violating Title IX by allowing transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports.

In the lawsuit, Frey denies that the state is violating federal law. He also argues that Rollins’ decision was illegal, regardless of the Title IX findings. He is asking the court to vacate Rollins’ actions and to immediately (and permanently) bar the USDA from freezing funds to Maine in this manner again.

Unlike other lawsuits Frey has participated in against the Trump administration, this is the only one that’s been filed in Maine’s federal court district and it deals with a Maine-specific situation.

Four days after Frey filed the suit, on April 11, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the USDA and Rollins from interfering with Maine’s federal funding and ordering that frozen funds be restored.

LIBRARIES

April 4, 2025 | DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND

Twenty states, including Maine, sued Trump and various federal agencies to stop them from dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which on March 31 placed almost all of its staff on administrative leave.

The president has signed multiple, similar orders since taking office, which he says are intended to scale back on “unnecessary” federal bureaucracy.

In Maine, this could lead many of the state’s 257 libraries to scale back services, particularly in rural communities, where people rely on libraries not only for books but education programming, Wi-Fi services and community.

This lawsuit also seeks to stop Trump from dismantling the Minority Business Development Agency and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, which helps resolve labor disputes.

VOTING

April 4, 2025 | DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

Maine and other states sued Trump and the federal Election Assistant Commission over a March 25 executive order, seeking to impose further restorations on voting processes across the country.

The complaint accused the president of trying to rewrite state election laws “by decree,” beyond the scope of his presidential power. Frey and the other attorneys general are asking a federal judge to overturn the order and declare it unconstitutional.

The White House stated the order was intended to “secure our elections” from fraud and errors. Civil rights advocates say the restrictions will make it harder for people to vote.

PUBLIC HEALTH GRANTS

April 1, 2025 | DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND

Maine and 22 other states, plus the District of Columbia, sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its leader, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for cutting roughly $11 billion in public health grants to the states.

Frey said Maine would lose at least $91 million from the department. It would affect programs for vaccine distribution, disease monitoring, emergency preparedness, mental health and substance use treatment and rural health services.

These grants were originally authorized by Congress through COVID-19 related legislation. Kennedy said the funds were no longer necessary because they believe the pandemic has ended.

Frey and the other attorneys general have requested a temporary restraining order to reverse Kennedy’s order.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LAYOFFS

March 13, 2025 | DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

Frey joined 21 other attorneys general in a lawsuit against the Trump administration in March after Trump ordered the Department of Education to drastically reduce its workforce. (That included shuttering its regional office in Boston.)

The states’ attorneys asked a federal judge in Massachusetts to reverse Trump’s order.

They filed a motion for preliminary injunction on March 24, asking the court to pause Trump’s order, halting the layoffs, until a final decision is reached in the case. The court has scheduled a hearing for April 25.

RESEARCH FUNDING

Feb. 10, 2025 | DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

This lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, challenged Trump’s ability to cut reimbursements at research institutions for biomedical research and utility costs.

These institutions rely on a unique “indirect cost reimbursement system” with the federal government to pay for their work. In early February, the National Institutes of Health announced it would slash rates unilaterally by 15% (which Frey said would have a disproportionate impact on varying institutions and their work.)

In Maine, the order would lead to millions in cutbacks for scientific research at the University of New England, Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, the University of Maine System and the MaineHealth Institute for Research.

A temporary restraining order was issued that same day and was extended 11 days later, despite opposition from the Trump administration.

On March 5, a Massachusetts judge agreed to award Frey and the others a nationwide preliminary injunction, preventing billions of dollars in cuts to research until a final decision is made.

‘DOGE’ ACCESS TO PRIVATE INFO

Feb. 7, 2025 | SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

Frey and 18 other Democratic attorneys general sued the Department of Government Efficiency, otherwise called DOGE, to prevent its “unauthorized access” to the Treasury Department’s central payment system.

DOGE was established by the Trump administration and is unofficially led by billionaire Elon Musk.

Frey said the states were suing to stop DOGE from accessing what would be American’s “most sensitive personal information,” including bank account details and Social Security numbers.

A judge granted their request for a temporary restraining order, halting DOGE’s access, and then granted their heavier request for a preliminary injunction on Feb. 21 against the Department of the Treasury. (Another judge in a similar case, filed in Maryland, has also temporarily blocked DOGE from access to private data at the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management.)

FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE

Jan. 28, 2025 |  DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND

Frey and 22 other Democratic attorneys general sued Trump and the Office of Budget and Management, which shared plans to freeze federal funding to states and nonprofit organizations in late January.

Panic ensued. In Maine alone, there was outcry from public housing agencies, the Medicaid program, victims’ rights organizations, student financial aid recipients and local governments who all rely on federal funding.

A federal judge in Rhode Island immediately blocked Trump from enforcing the freeze as soon as the lawsuit was filed, and on March 6 signed off on a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration, preventing it from freezing essential funding until a final decision is made in the case. The OMB rescinded its order.

But before that, Frey and the rest of the states had twice asked the judge to enforce the order.

BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Jan. 21, 2025 | DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

Frey and 18 other attorneys general sued the Trump administration after he signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship, the constitutional principle that if someone is born in the U.S., they are a citizen.

A U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts granted Frey and the others’ request for a preliminary injunction, halting Trump’s order until the legal case ends. (The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine joined a similar lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire, where a judge also blocked Trump’s order.)

Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on March 14 to weigh in after three appeals courts (including the 1st U.S. Circuit in Boston) rejected his pleas.

Staff Writer Daniel Kool contributed.

Note: This story will be updated as these and other lawsuits develop. 

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