By Sarah Holliday

The clash between Maine authorities and the Trump administration has escalated fiercely. President Donald Trump issued a stark decree, banning men from dominating women’s sports and invading private female spaces. Maine officials have boldly rejected these mandates. The consequence? A severe cut in federal funding to punish the state for flouting Trump’s policies designed to safeguard women and girls.

Yet, the funding cuts reveal a deeper, more personal dimension. Maine Governor Janet Mills (D), her family, and a network of transgender advocacy groups appear entangled in a web of financial interests tied to the state’s dangerous gender procedures.

The Daily Wire exposed the connections. “MaineHealth — where Mills’ sister, Dora Anne Mills, serves as chief health improvement officer — was a top donor to Mills’ 2022 gubernatorial run. The healthcare system offers damaging and irreversible ‘treatments’ for gender-confused minors, such as puberty blockers, ‘gender affirming hormone therapy,’ and ‘menstrual suppression.’ Such procedures are lucrative for MaineHealth, and, of course, backed by Gov. Mills.”

Mills’s legislative record amplifies the controversy. DW detailed her actions: signing a 2023 law that “allows minors to access hormone therapies without their parents’ consent” and a 2024 bill “that shields providers of so-called transgender care for minors from laws in other states that restrict such procedures,” potentially enabling transgender treatments for minors without parental oversight as well. She also banned so-called “conversion therapy” for minors — which is counseling aimed at addressing gender dysphoria without rushing to transition.

Steven Robinson, editor-in-chief of The Maine Wire, uncovered a more alarming truth. He told DW that Mills, through 2019 executive actions, “unilaterally changed Maine’s Medicaid program,” MaineCare, “to force the taxpayers of Maine to fund elective sex-change procedures — procedures that have been shown in diverse medical studies to have adverse health outcomes for patients, especially minor patients.”

Robinson’s investigation, using Maine’s Freedom of Access Act, revealed a surge in these taxpayer-funded procedures, including at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital within the MaineHealth network. Notably, MaineHealth’s revenue skyrocketed after Mills took office, coinciding with her sister’s appointment as Chief Health Improvement Officer. “All a coincidence,” Robinson remarked sardonically, “I’m sure.”

The Daily Wire further exposed the financial ties. “MaineHealth is bringing in money from transgender ‘care’ for minors while getting the full backing — even through legislative means — from Mills. Additionally, under Dora Anne Mills’ leadership, MaineHealth has poured money into Mills’ gubernatorial campaign and saw massive revenue growth.” A Washington Examiner report underscored the broader influence, noting that pro-transgender organizations, which are among Maine’s largest employers, “spent almost $2.5 million on political activities during Maine’s 2022 general election, when Mills was reelected” and maintain robust lobbying operations.

This controversy lays bare not only a profound ideological rift but also a disturbing convergence of power, profit, and policy in Maine’s health care and political spheres. David Closson, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview, offered perspective on the damning revelations. “The situation in Maine continues to evolve as reports have come to light that Governor Mills or her political manufacturers may be benefiting from so-called transgender surgeries. As Christians, we need to be clear-eyed when it comes to this unfolding situation.”

Closson pointed to a broader trend. “Planned Parenthood has increasingly pivoted away from surgical abortions to providing so-called gender-affirming care. In fact, some reports show that gender transition surgeries are one of the top three income generators.” He urged vigilance, stating, “We need to realize that a profit motive lies behind much of the transgender activism. Although there may be some activists who truly believe in the cause, many others have gone along with the madness that is transgenderism out of a greedy desire for money or for profit.”

Rooting his critique in faith, Closson added, “As Christians, we know that the love of money is the root of all evil. We also know that transgender ideology is a perversion of God’s good design for humanity — that He created us male and female.” He underscored a key principle, “Sin often compounds, which means we shouldn’t be surprised that many of the purveyors of this dangerous ideology are motivated by a self-centered profit-driven motivation.”

It appears this scandal — intertwining ideological defiance with allegations of profiteering — raises urgent questions about the ethics and motivations driving Maine’s transgender policies, casting a stark light on the intersection of greed, power, and ideology.

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.