President Donald Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, sparred Friday over the state’s plan to ignore an executive order barring transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports, with the president threatening to cut off Maine’s federal funding and the governor promising to “see you in court” in an unusually public argument.
U.S. President Donald Trump challenges Gov. Janet Mills over trans women in sports on Feb. 21, 2025. … [+]
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Key Facts
Mills and Trump clashed at the White House during a National Governors Association session, when Trump asked Mills if she would direct her state to follow his order one week after the Maine Principals’ Association—the nonprofit that regulates athletics in all of the state’s public high schools—said it planned to still allow transgender student-athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
“I’m complying with state and federal laws,” Mills responded, likely referring in part to the Maine Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.
Trump responded with “We are the federal law. You better do it because you’re not going to get federal funding,” to which Mills said, “We’ll see you in court.”
“I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one, Trump replied. “ And enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be an elected official afterwards” (Mills is ineligible to run for a third consecutive term as governor).
Mills on Friday issued a statement saying her state “will not be intimidated by the president’s threats” and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey called Trump’s warning “disturbing.”
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Maine Gov. Janet Mills at the White House on Feb. 21, 2025.
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Crucial Quote
“If the president attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children from the benefit of federal funding, my administration and the attorney general will take appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides,” Mills said.
Key Background
Trump has signed several executive orders since becoming president that have targeted transgender Americans. One seeks to limit access to gender transition surgeries for people younger than 19, and another says it will be the policy of the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female. Another order reinstates a policy from Trump’s first term that stops trans people from enlisting in the military and bars those already serving from transitioning. One of Trump’s executive orders directs transgender women to be incarcerated in male prisons. The order Trump and Mills clashed over—titled “Keeping Men Out Of Women’s Sports—bars students assigned male at birth from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. The Education Department is tasked with investigating potential violations, and federal funding can be rescinded “from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.” Several of the executive orders have already been challenged in court. The order regarding transgender women being incarcerated in male prisons has been blocked in court while litigation from a transgender inmate moves forward. Lawsuits are still pending over the directive banning transgender Americans from serving in the military, as is a challenge to the order recognizing only two genders, which goes against current practice of allowing Americans to change the sex designation on their passport or use the non-binary “X.”
What To Watch For
Earlier this month, transgender public high school students Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle of New Hampshire filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s ban on transgender women in women’s sports. The plaintiff’s attorneys claim the order, along with one that says the United States will recognize only two sexes, violate federal equal protection guarantees and the students’ rights under Title IX. Tirrell and Turmelle’s lawsuit also argues that the executive orders subject their schools to the threat of lost federal funding for allowing them to play on girls’ teams.
Further Viewing
Further Reading
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