President Trump and Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills briefly quarreled Friday at a National Governors Association session at the White House after Trump told a meeting of Republican governors he would withhold federal funding from the state over its refusal to comply with an executive order on transgender athletes.
In remarks Friday afternoon, Trump repeated the false claim that two female Olympic boxers were transgender and touted a recent order meant to ban trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, including at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
He asked Mills, who attended Friday’s event, whether she would direct her state to follow the order. Maine’s governing body for high school sports, the Maine Principal’s Association, previously said it would not bar transgender athletes from competing on teams that match their gender identity, citing a state anti-discrimination law preventing the organization from doing so.
“I’m complying with state and federal law,” Mills responded.
“We are the federal law. You better do it because you’re not going to get federal funding,” Trump said, echoing a threat he made Thursday evening at a meeting for the Republican Governor’s Association. While executive orders direct the government to enforce laws, they cannot override federal laws or statutes independently.
“See you in court,” Mills said.
“Good, I’ll see you in court, I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.”
“Enjoy your life after governor,” Trump responded, “because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
Mills, who has served as governor of Maine since 2019, is term-limited and cannot seek reelection for a third consecutive term in 2026.
Earlier Friday, Mills said the state “will not be intimidated by the President’s threats” to withhold federal funds.
“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,” she said in a statement.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey (D) called Trump’s warning “disturbing.”
“Any attempt by the President to cut federal funding in Maine unless transgender athletes are restricted from playing sports would be illegal and in direct violation of court orders,” Frey said in a statement Friday morning. “Fortunately, though, the rule of law still applies in this county, and I will do everything in my power to defend Maine’s laws and block efforts by the President to bully and threaten us.”
Updated at 3:48 p.m. EST
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