Gov. Janet Mills got into a heated exchange with President Donald Trump a day after he threatened to withhold federal funds to punish the state for allowing transgender student-athletes to compete in sports.
Mills was attending an event for governors at the White House in Washington on Friday when the exchange happened, according to Maine Morning Star and Reuters.
“You better do it because you’re not going to get federal funding,” Trump told Mills in an exchange captured by reporters.
“We’re going to follow the law sir. We’ll see you in court,” Mills said in response.
During a speech before the Republican Governors Association on Thursday, Trump asked if anyone in the room was from Maine before attacking the state over the continued inclusion of transgender student-athletes.
“So we’re not going to give them any federal funding — none whatsoever — until they clean that up,” he said, referring to the state’s policy.
That echoes calls from Maine Republicans this week that schools here should lose federal funding if they allow trans athletes to play in sports consistent with their gender identity.
In a statement on Friday, Mills vowed to take “all appropriate and necessary legal action” if Trump follows through with his threat.
“The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats,” Mills said.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey also fired back Friday, calling it “disturbing” that Trump is using “children as pawns in advancing his political agenda.”
“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 federal court orders. Fortunately, though, the rule of law still applies in this country, and I will do everything in my power to defend Maine’s laws and block efforts by the President to bully and threaten us,” Frey said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order that threatens to withhold federal funds if trans girls and women are allowed to compete in girls and women’s sports. That prompted the NCAA to change its policies.
But the Maine Principals’ Association, which runs high school sports, affirmed this month it will continue to allow trans athletes to compete in accordance with the Maine Human Rights Act, which the Democratic-run Legislature amended in 2021 to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.
That continues the association’s longstanding policy of inclusion, which allowed trans athletes to play in sports consistent with their gender identity, unless there was a safety risk. Between 2013 and 2021, the association heard from 56 students wishing to participate during that time, only four of whom were trans girls.
It’s unclear whether Trump will follow through on that threat, which would affect Maine and 21 other states with similar civil rights laws.
University of New Hampshire Law School visiting assistant professor Michael Dube told CBS 13 that Maine could challenge Trump’s order on the grounds that it lacks the force of law here or violates Title IX.