During a meeting of the governors at the White House, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from the state of Maine after Democratic governor Janet Mills suggested she would not comply with the executive order of transgender athletes.
The meeting saw Trump addressing the room to discuss his policies, including the ban, during which he he sought out Mills directly and asked whether she would comply with the ruling.
She responded that she would only comply with state and federal laws, to which Trump said that he is “the federal law”.
“You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t,” Trump said.
Mills kept cool and simply said that she would see him (and his administration) “in court”.
But Trump had a quick riposte, threatening her career too: “Good. I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be an easy one. And enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
Following the tense exchange, Mills released a statement about the President’s threats, in which she reiterated her ability to take “necessary legal action” against him.
“If the President attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of Federal funding, my Administration and the Attorney General will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides. The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.”
Author Stephen King, a Maine native, praised the governor for standing up for trans rights on his return to social media platform X.
Following a post calling Trump a “traitorous, Putin-loving dip****”, the author said the governor made him proud to be from the state of Maine.
“Thank you, Governor, for standing up to the bully,” he wrote.
Governor Janet Mills to Trump: “See you in court.”
Makes me proud to be a Maine man.
Thank you, Governor, for standing up to the bully.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 21, 2025
This came after the Department of Education launched a “directed investigation” of the Maine Department of Education “amid allegations that it continues to allow male athletes to compete in girls’ interscholastic athletics” in direct contravention of the ban.
The department’s new release cited one specific Maine high school that had been “continuing to allow at least one male student to compete in girls’ categories”.
Mills also released a statement in response to the investigation. She said: “No President – Republican or Democrat – can withhold Federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will. It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold.”
“Maine may be one of the first states to undergo an investigation by his Administration, but we won’t be the last,” the statement continued, questioning where it will end and who Trump might target next.
“This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation,” Mills added.
It is the fifth Title IX investigation launched by the Department of Education in recent weeks, with California and Minnesota high school sports governing bodies notified just last week.
The department has also launched investigation into the University of Pennsylvania and San José State University for similar Title IX violations related to trans athletes, and decided to suspend all programmes and policies that “fail to affirm the reality of biological sex”.
The anti-trans executive orders signed by Trump earlier this month aimed to keep trans women out of women’s sports as well as giving federal agencies latitude in ensuring any state or agency that receives federal funding abides with the Trump administration’s policies surrounding recognising only two sexes: male and female, as assigned at birth.
Is Janet Mills trans?
Mills assumed office as the 75th Governor of Maine in 2019, previously serving as the Maine Attorney General.
Mills has always been a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, including banning conversion therapy for minors in the state as well as boldly being in favour of LGBTQ+ Pride, even going as far as officially declaring June LGBTQ+ Pride month in Maine.
Despite being an ally, Mills has never publicly come out as being LGBTQ+ and there is nothing to suggest that she is trans.
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