President Donald Trump engaged in a heated discussion with Democratic Maine Governor Janet Mills at the White House regarding transgender women participating in sports. He insisted that she must adhere to his executive order or face the consequence of losing federal funding, to which she retorted, “we’ll see you in court.”
Maine, a predominantly blue state, is among those challenging Trump’s executive order from February 5, which prohibits transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. During the bipartisan meeting of governors, Trump threatened to cut federal funding for Maine before his confrontation with Mills.
“Are you going to disregard that?” Trump inquired of Mills.
“I am following both state and federal laws,” she replied, prompting Trump to respond, “Well, we are the federal law,” and further warned, “you better do it, you better do it because you won’t receive any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
TRUMP THREATENS TO WITHHOLD FEDERAL FUNDS FROM MAINE OVER NONCOMPLIANCE WITH ‘NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS’ ORDER
President Donald Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills clashed Friday at the White House over executive order compliance. (Pool via AP/Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“Your population, while somewhat liberal—even though I did quite well there—does not support having men in women’s sports, so you better comply, otherwise, you’re forfeiting any federal funding,” Trump added.
“We’ll see you in court,” Mills shot back.
“Great, I’ll see you in court. I anticipate that should be an easy case. And enjoy your time after being governor because I doubt you’ll remain in politics,” Trump concluded.
Mills issued a statement on Friday asserting, “The State of Maine will not bow to the President’s intimidation tactics.”
“If the President tries to unilaterally strip Maine’s school children of vital federal funding, my Administration and the Attorney General will pursue every legal avenue necessary to restore that funding and the educational opportunities it provides,” she further remarked.
WISCONSIN OUTLAWS TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS, ADHERING TO TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER
President Donald Trump speaks at the Governors Working Session in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Feb. 21. (Pool via AP)
Trump remarked to a group of Republican governors in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that “I’ve heard men are still competing in Maine.”
“I hate to break it to you, but we’re not going to provide them with any federal funds, as they still insist on allowing men to play in women’s sports, which is unbelievable… So we are going to eliminate any federal funding unless they rectify this situation,” he added.
His executive order, signed on February 5, instructed all federal agencies to reassess grants, programs, and policies that do not align with the administration’s goal to end “male participation in women’s sports… based on safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
It also called for strict enforcement of Title IX against any educational institutions or athletic organizations that refuse to comply, threatening to withdraw federal support in those instances.
Immediately after the order’s promulgation, several states, including Maine, California, Minnesota, and other Democratic-led areas, announced their refusal to comply with Trump.
President Donald Trump arrives at the Governors Working Session in the State Dining Room of the White House on Friday, Feb. 21. (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The executive director of Maine’s principal governing body for high school athletics stated that eligibility for teams will continue to be determined based on a student’s asserted gender identity, despite the president’s order aimed at banning “men from women’s sports.”
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
