President Trump speaks during the governors working session at the White House on Feb. 21. Photo: Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Trump on Friday threatened to withhold federal funding from Maine if the state does not comply with his recent executive order banning transgender women from women’s sports.

Why it matters: The brief clash between Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) underscores the tenuous position that many Democratic governors are navigating, as they face the persistent threat of losing federal funding if they go against White House policies.

Driving the news: “Is Maine here? The governor of Maine?” Trump said Friday while speaking to the National Governors Association about his recent executive order .

• “Are you not going to comply with it?” Trump asked Mills.
• “I’m complying with state and federal law,” she said in response.
• “Well, we are the federal law,” Trump said. “Well, you’d better do it. You’d better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
• “We’re going to follow the law,” she told the president, before adding: “See you in court.”
• Trump then said, “Good, I’ll see you in court.”

The big picture: The Maine Principals’ Association will continue to allow transgender women athletes to compete, saying that Trump’s executive order goes against the state’s Human Rights Act, per Maine Public Radio.

• Mills in a statement on Friday after Trump’s remarks said that the state “will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.”
• She also said that if Trump tries to take away federal funding, her “administration and the attorney general will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides.”

State of play: Trump’s executive order, which he signed earlier this month, denies federal funding for schools that allow trans women or girls to play in capacities corresponding with their gender identity, Axios’ April Rubin reported.

• Schools that don’t abide by the order would be considered in violation of Title IX.
• Trump’s executive order came after he made attacks on transgender people a central part of his 2024 presidential campaign.

Go deeper: Trump executive order bans transgender athletes from women’s sports