During a recent meeting at the White House, President Donald Trump confronted Maine Governor Janet Mills directly regarding her state’s stance on his new executive order that prohibits men from competing in women’s sports.
MUST WATCH: President Trump calls Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) out to her face over her refusal to keep men out of women's sports:
"You better do it — because you're not going to get any federal funding at all if you don't."
pic.twitter.com/uSxXPQfRwG— rooted.wings (@BrittRooted) February 21, 2025
Trump made it clear that he believed her state was not adhering to his February 5 directive, known as “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
Notably, he questioned Mills, who was seated just a short distance away, about whether Maine would comply with the order.
Governor Mills defended her position, stating, “I’m complying with state and federal law.”
In response, Trump warned her that non-compliance would result in a loss of federal funding, saying, “You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
The tension escalated as he emphasized that public opinion in Maine was against men participating in women’s sports, urging her to follow through with the order.
To this, Mills retorted, “We’ll see you in court,” to which Trump replied, “Good, I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that.”
This back-and-forth ended with Trump adding, “Enjoy your life after, governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics,” although Mills is already term-limited after two terms.
The executive order expressed a clear policy against depriving women and girls of fair athletic opportunities and stated that it would cut funds from educational programs that do so.
Mills, undeterred by Trump’s threats, issued a statement asserting that her administration would not be intimidated and would take legal action if necessary to protect federal funding for Maine’s schools.
Maine’s Attorney General, Aaron Frey, also supported Mills, insisting any attempt to cut funding over the order would be illegal and a violation of existing court rulings.
He emphasized that he would counter any presidential efforts that threatened their state laws and education system.
Some legal analysts, however, seem to lean toward the administration’s stance, arguing that Maine’s resistance is unlikely to succeed in court given federal obligations under Title IX.
In a statement, a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation indicated that Maine’s challenge might not hold up against established federal law regarding the funding agreement with the Department of Education.
For now, this standoff sets the stage for a potentially heated legal battle between the state of Maine and the Trump administration regarding this contentious issue.
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