Democrats in Maine are fighting back against President Donald Trump’s dictate excluding transgender athletes from school sports after he called the state out in a speech on Thursday.

At a gathering for Republican governors in Washington D.C., Trump said he heard “men are still playing” sports in Maine, the Portland Press Herald reports.

Related

Trump admin threatens legal action against states that allow trans athletes in school sports
It’s not clear how far Trump will go to enforce this executive order.

“I hate to tell you this, but we’re not going to give them any federal money. They’re still saying they want men to play in women’s sports, and I cannot believe they’re doing that,” he said. “So we’re not going to give them any money, none whatsoever, until they clean that up.”

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

The reaction was swift from both Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and the state’s attorney general, Aaron Frey.

“If the President attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of federal funding, my Administration and the Attorney General will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides,” Mills said on Friday. “The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.”

Frey said such action by the president would be illegal and overturned in court, and he was disturbed to see Trump “use 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,” Frey said in a statement. “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.”

Trump’s remarks followed a viral social media post by Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby identifying the winner of a girls’ track championship as transgender. Libby posted a photo of the student athlete and deadnamed her.

Last week, the Maine Principals Association announced it would not enforce Trump’s executive order banning trans student-athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R) waded into the state uproar, straddling both sides of the issue.

While pushing back on Trump’s efforts to withhold federal funding approved by Congress, she agreed that transgender athletes should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.

Ultimately, though, it was a decision best left to the states, she said.

“One of the keys to the success of Title IX has been fair and safe athletic competition,” Collins said in a written statement. “Allowing biological males who identify as transgender to compete in women’s sports has threatened to undermine the core purposes behind Title IX. This is not a political issue; this is a matter of biology.”

But, she said, “State officials will have to make their own decisions about how they want to conduct athletic competitions in Maine.”

The Senator urged everyone to “treat people who are transgender with respect and dignity.”

“This is especially important when dealing with young people, who face heightened pressure and challenges,” Collins said.

Maine state Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) excoriated Trump, saying that courts have repeatedly found that the federal government cannot “withhold funding arbitrarily or use it as leverage to undermine established civil rights protections.” Maine’s policy currently complies with the Maine Human Rights Act, Pingree said, vowing to fight the threatened funding cut.

“Federal funding is not a political bargaining chip,” Pingree said in a written statement. “President Trump’s threat to cut off funding to Maine is not only an egregious abuse of power—it’s an unconstitutional act of coercion designed to force states into compliance with his extreme and discriminatory agenda.”

“If the President attempts to follow through with this threat,” she added, “we will fight this in Congress, in the courts, and alongside every Mainer who believes in equality under the law.”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.