By Leah Douglas

(Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Agriculture has frozen funds to some Maine educational programs over the state’s refusal to ban transgender women from sports, said a press release from Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The administration of President Donald Trump has taken aim at Maine after a dispute between Republican Trump and Democratic Governor Janet Mills over the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports.

The Departments of Education and Health and Human Services have opened investigations into the state for allowing transgender athletes to compete. The government argues their inclusion is a violation of Title IX protections for women.

"I am freezing Maine’s federal funds for certain administrative and technical functions in schools. This is only the beginning, though you are free to end it at any time by protecting women and girls in compliance with federal law," Rollins said in a letter to Mills on Wednesday, seen by Reuters.

The USDA is reviewing grants awarded to the Maine Department of Education by the Biden administration, Rollins said in a press release.

The agency on March 11 suspended funding for research and programs at the University of Maine over the issue, but on March 19 said it had unfrozen the money.