The state of Maine has sued the Trump administration over cancellation of a $9 million NOAA grant to restore tidal salt marsh habitat and protect coastal infrastructure from flooding.
A complaint before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine alleges NOAA singled out the grant for termination in April, roughly six weeks after Maine Gov. Janet Mills publicly (D) sparred with President Donald Trump in February over the state’s policy on transgender girls and women participating in school sports.
The complaint says the administration’s action was “capricious and arbitrary,” violates the Administrative Procedure Act and ignores multiple provisions of the U.S. Constitution.
“Despite NOAA’s lack of explanation for the termination, context strongly suggests that the project grant was terminated for a reason entirely unrelated to the project’s merits,” Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey says in the complaint filed Tuesday.
