Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, accused a Democratic colleague of obstructing efforts to protect Maine's lobster industry from Biden-era federal regulations, even as the legislation could gain momentum in the Senate next month.
Collins' criticism comes as Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., prepares to visit Maine to hear from lobstermen after previously opposing efforts to extend regulatory relief. Meanwhile, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pledged this week to advance the legislation when Congress returns in November.
"I'm glad that Sen. Cantwell is coming to Maine to finally listen to our lobstermen," Collins told Fox News Digital. "In 2022, Sen. Cantwell worked against the Maine delegation's effort to halt the Biden regulations that threatened lobstermen's livelihoods, and this year she has been blocking the bill to extend the regulatory pause that we secured in 2022."
The legislation, introduced by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., passed the House in September. The bill would extend an existing pause on new federal regulations intended to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale through 2035, giving Maine's lobster industry additional time before potentially costly restrictions take effect.
Cruz's announcement follows a September letter from Collins and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, urging the Senate Commerce Committee to advance the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act.
"This pause is necessary to protect Maine's lobster fishery, which is essential to the state's economy and coastal communities. According to the Maine Lobstermen's Association, the lobster industry supports an estimated $2 billion in annual economic activity and more than 17,500 jobs," the senators wrote.
In a statement, Cruz credited Collins with helping advance the legislation, saying her leadership has been "instrumental" in efforts to protect "Maine's lobstermen from burdensome regulations."
"I hope we can move this bill without changes or further delay to put on President Trump's desk as soon as possible," Cruz added.
Cantwell is expected to attend a listening session with Maine lobstermen alongside Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson at an event hosted by the Maine Lobster Union.
The visit comes amid accusations from Collins and Cruz that Cantwell previously worked against efforts to provide longer-term relief for the state's lobster industry.
Two Maine high school girls plan to ask federal officials to intervene over a transgender soccer player’s participation on an opposing team, alleging the state’s eligibility rules have denied them fair competition and hurt their teams’ results.
The player scored or assisted on roughly half of South Portland High School’s goals this season, according to a draft Title IX complaint prepared by Alliance Defending Freedom, provided to OutKick. A scoring chart supplied for the planned complaint credits the athlete with 15 goals and 10 assists.
ADF plans to submit the complaint Monday, Nov. 2, to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on behalf of Reagan Wilson, a junior at Fryeburg Academy, and Morgan Clark, a junior and varsity soccer captain at Windham High School. The draft has not yet been filed.
"Despite all their hard work and discipline, Reagan and Morgan may be denied the thrill of victory because Maine lets males with inherent biological advantages compete on girls’ teams," the draft states.
"Reagan and Morgan urge OCR to step in, stop this violation of federal law, and protect the right of women and girls to compete on a level playing field."
The complaint would target the Maine Department of Education, Maine Principals’ Association, South Portland School Department and Windham Raymond School District. It asks federal officials to investigate and require changes to eligibility policies, along with remedies for alleged past violations.
The allegations center on a freshman who identifies as female and joined South Portland’s girls’ varsity soccer team this fall.
The supplied chart credits the athlete with three goals in South Portland’s 7-0 season-opening victory over Portland, both goals in a 2-0 win over Gorham and two goals and two assists in a 9-0 victory over Biddeford.
It also lists three assists in a 6-1 win over Noble and a goal in a 4-1 victory over Falmouth.
The chart includes results through South Portland’s Oct. 27 playoff victory and lists an Oct. 30 matchup against Scarborough as upcoming. The source who supplied the document said it would be updated before Monday’s filing if the athlete scores additional playoff goals.
South Portland’s improvement has also drawn attention in local sports coverage. The Portland Press Herald reported that the team finished 2025 with a 3-9-2 record and reached 11-2-2 after winning its first regional quarterfinal in program history Oct. 27.
Wilson’s team lost to South Portland in an Aug. 29 match, according to the draft. Clark’s Windham team played South Portland to a 1-1 tie Oct. 1, a result the complaint alleges lowered Windham’s ranking.
Both girls intend to play varsity soccer next year and expect to face the athlete again, their attorneys say.
Wilson’s experience extends beyond soccer. The draft says she previously competed against a transgender runner who won the 2024 Western Maine Conference cross-country championship. It also alleges her indoor track team’s standing suffered when a transgender athlete won the girls’ pole vault at the 2025 state championships.
The attorneys describe those earlier competitions as evidence that Maine officials knew about the effects of their policies, although those events are not themselves the subject of this complaint.
At the center of the legal challenge is the Maine Principals’ Association’s gender identity participation policy.
The draft quotes that policy as allowing a transgender student to compete according to either birth sex or gender identity, "but not both." It also cites language stating that "[n]o medical records or official documents shall be requested or required to establish a student’s gender identity."
ADF argues that the policy fails to preserve equal athletic opportunities for female students.
"Under the policy, biological males can win not only in the male category but also in the female category, expanding opportunities for male athletes at the expense of female athletes," the draft states.
Maine officials have defended participation based on gender identity under the Maine Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on that basis. The association previously said it would continue following state law despite Trump’s executive order restricting transgender participation in female sports.
The draft also invokes the Supreme Court’s June ruling in West Virginia v. B.P.J. , which upheld state restrictions on transgender participation in girls’ and women’s sports.
The court concluded that Title IX permits eligibility rules based on biological sex. However, it expressly left unresolved the separate question of whether schools may allow transgender athletes to compete on female teams — the issue ADF’s planned complaint seeks to challenge in Maine.
The planned filing follows a dispute that thrust Maine into national attention in early 2025.
After a transgender Greely High School athlete won the girls’ state pole-vault championship, Trump confronted Democratic Gov. Janet Mills at a Feb. 21 White House event and threatened to withhold federal funding unless Maine complied with his sports executive order.
Mills said she would follow state and federal law and told Trump, "See you in court." The Justice Department subsequently sued Maine’s education department in April 2025 over transgender participation in girls’ sports.
The girls are scheduled to speak Monday at a 10 a.m. press conference at the Capitol Building’s Welcome Center in Augusta, alongside ADF, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports and organizers seeking a 2027 referendum on school sports and facilities.
The Protect Girls Sports in Maine committee says it will submit nearly 5,000 additional signatures after its earlier petition fell 532 valid signatures short of qualifying for this year’s ballot.
The announcement will come one day before Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces Democratic former state Senate President Troy Jackson in Maine’s Senate election.
Collins has supported federal restrictions on transgender participation in female sports. Jackson voted in 2023 to reject proposed state restrictions and answered "No" in an April questionnaire asking whether he supported a transgender sports ban and dismantling other Maine Human Rights Act protections.
The surge is especially pronounced in Texas, where voters are deciding closely watched Senate, House and governor's races. More than 6.3 million Texans had voted early as of Wednesday, compared with 4.2 million at the same point four years ago, a 50% increase.
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