President Donald Trump’s administration appeared Wednesday to have taken down an online list of federal properties in Maine and other states that it indicated it may sell.

The U.S. General Services Administration had initially published Tuesday the list of 440 “non-core” properties around the country that it called “functionally obsolete.” The GSA said in a news release the Trump administration will consider selling the buildings, but it is open to “creative solutions” that include leasing offices back and consolidating services in those places.

By Wednesday morning, the properties were no longer on the GSA’s website that instead said the list is “coming soon.” A GSA spokesperson did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

The Maine properties that appeared on the list included the seven-story Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building in Augusta, which was built in 1966 and houses the city’s main post office as well as smaller offices, including those of U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King.

The Custom House in Portland, which was built between 1867 and 1872 to accommodate the city’s growing importance as a port, was also listed along with the Social Security Administration building in Presque Isle, which is one of eight field offices of its kind in Maine, and a parking area in Portland.

It was unclear how serious the Republican president’s administration is about selling the buildings that it said included nearly 80 million square feet of office space in 47 states, including the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters and FBI office in Washington, D.C. Trump and his “government efficiency” czar Elon Musk have been targeting a 50 percent reduction in space occupied by federal workers, terminating leases across the country.

Our beloved state is currently embroiled in a loud and fractious feud. I wish we weren’t, but we are.

A disclaimer: If you have questions, or are genuinely engaged in sorting your way through this issue, I welcome your conversation and I promise to engage in it without rancor. If, however, you are inclined to simply yell and hurl invective… well, I simply won’t be reading it. Life is short.

Currently, we are in a showdown between the federal and state government. A significant amount of much-needed funding hangs in the balance.

This whole thing started with an elected representative “outing” an underage student who that representative believes to be transgender.

Midcoast resident Heather D. Martin wants to know what’s on your mind; email her at heather@heatherdmartin.com.

Whether the student is, or is not, doesn’t matter.

The representative claims it is about her right to free speech. It isn’t.

If that child had, for example, committed a grisly murder, robbed a bank or committed some other crime, their name and image would have been withheld by law. But because this minor was busy just living their life in a way that representative deemed unacceptable, she felt justified in posting the minor on social media, exposing them to potential violence, threats and harassment.

Our youth deserve better than that. Our youth deserve to be protected. So do our grown-ups.

Now, if the issue were genuinely about fairness in sports (it isn’t), that would spark my curiosity. The current system is old. Times have changed in lots of ways. I bet that we, as a nation, could scrap the whole thing, sit down and create a new system that is better all around. We are actually pretty good at solutions once we take the heat out of the conversation. We can create a new and better way.

The fact that the conversation is being wound around the issue of transgender people is unfortunate. It seems to inspire a lot of fear, which comes out as “ugly.” We are not showing our best selves.

First, there seems to be a sense that making room for all types of people to exist will somehow cause others to morph into someone else against their will. I’ve never actually seen that happen.

People are who they are. Every transgender person I know has told me they knew who they were at a young age. And I believe them. Just as I believe my straight friends, and gay friends, and friends who have allergies.

Who we are is not a “choice.” Not for any of us. Our choice is about whether we pretend to be someone we’re not, or let others see who we truly are. That comes down to safety. Wouldn’t that be a lovely thing if everyone felt safe to be themself?

I’ve also heard the word “unnatural” bandied about – and that is simply incorrect. Nature is full of examples of changing genders. Clownfish, bearded dragons and sea snails are maybe the most famous, but the spotted hyena is worth a mention as well. Lots of species are able to change their gender completely – even well into their lifespan.

Humans not being able to do so autonomously is not an argument against it, either. After all, our inability to grow new teeth like sharks can is why we created dentists. Like I said, we are good at solutions.

However, none of this is the real issue.

What is really at stake here is the Constitution. Specifically, “ArtI.S8.C1.2.6 Anti-Coercion Requirement and Spending Clause,” which is pretty clear that withholding funds from a state in order to coerce or force specific behavior is illegal.

The threat, explicitly tied to funding, made by the president against our governor – and all of us who live here – is flat-out unconstitutional. States’ rights (oh, the irony) were established to prevent such abuses of power.

Therefore, I offer up (again) my heartfelt thanks to Gov. Janet Mills for standing up and ensuring our Constitutional protections remain in place, that rule of law remains the governing principle, and that we are all afforded our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

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The U.S. Custom House on Free Street in Portland is among hundreds of properties deemed “non-core assets” that the federal government said Tuesday that it plans to sell off. John Ewing/Portland Press Herald, file

The federal government plans to sell off certain properties it deems nonessential to core functions, including four properties in Maine, the U.S. General Services Administration announced Tuesday.

Among hundreds of properties deemed “non-core assets” are the Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building in Augusta, which hosts more than a dozen tenants, including the Postal Service, IRS and offices for both of Maine’s U.S. senators.

The Social Security Administration building in Presque Isle was also listed, as was the historic U.S. Custom House and a parking facility in Portland, the administration said.

All those sites are included in a list of “properties designated for disposal.”

“GSA’s decisive action to dispose of non-core assets leverages the private sector, drives improvements for our agency customers, and best serves local communities,” the administration said in its announcement.

Core assets include those used for “critical government operations, such as: courthouses, land ports of entry, and facilities critical to our national defense and law enforcement,” the administration said.

The list includes properties in nearly every state, including a handful of high-profile government buildings.

Although it originally included more than 440 total properties when announced, the list was pared down to just 320 properties by 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Among properties that appeared on the original list but were removed are the J. Edgar Hoover Building, which serves as FBI headquarters; the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building; the Old Post Office building, where President Donald Trump once ran a hotel; and the American Red Cross headquarters.

The headquarters of numerous agencies, including the Department of Labor and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, were originally listed as well.

It was not immediately clear when the properties would be formally offered for sale or what the terms may look like.

“GSA will be releasing more information on how interested prospective parties can submit information soon,” the department said.

The GSA did not immediately return emailed questions Tuesday night about why certain properties were removed from the list, whether others may also be removed, or when details of the sale policies would be revealed.

This report contains material from The Associated Press.

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