On Friday at the White House, the clash between Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and the Trump administration over trans student-athletes escalated as Mills confronted the president face to face.

“See you in court,” the governor shot back after Trump threatened to end all federal funding to the state.

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Trump made an anti-trans threat against Maine. Its Democrats are fighting back.
The president started a big-time squabble that he may not win… and the Dems are not playing games.

It was perhaps the most forceful public rebuke Trump has suffered since taking office in January.

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The confrontation started the day before when Trump called out Maine over its continuing support for trans women and girls playing school sports.

Trump said he heard “men are still playing” on women’s and girls’ teams in Maine.

“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.”

Mills responded the next day with a defiant written response: “The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.”

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.

Trump’s first round of threats 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 online and deadnamed her.

The confrontation escalated Friday at a White House meeting of the governors’ group hosted by Trump.

About an hour in, Trump again went after Maine and Mills.

“Is Maine here? The governor of Maine?” Trump asked the room.

“Yeah,” Gov. Mills answered. “I’m here.”

Referring to his executive order banning trans-student athletes, Trump asked, “Are you not going to comply with that?”

“I’m complying with the state and federal laws,” Mills replied pointedly.

Trump then declared, “We are the federal law,” and told Mills, “You better do it.”

Trump cited polls indicating public opinion was on his side before warning Mills again, “You better comply, you better comply, because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding.”

“See you in court,” she shot back.

“Good,” Trump replied, glaring. “I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.”

The president paused and added, “And enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”

Within minutes, the Department of Education’s enforcer, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor, announced an investigation into Maine schools over violations of the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title IX.

“Maine would have you believe that it has no choice in how it treats women and girls in athletics—that is, that it must follow its state laws and allow male athletes to compete against women and girls,” Trainor wrote. “Let me be clear: If Maine wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Education Department, it has to follow Title IX. If it wants to forgo federal funds and continue to trample the rights of its young female athletes, that, too, is its choice. OCR [Office for Civil Rights] will do everything in its power to ensure taxpayers are not funding blatant civil rights violators.”

The next day, the administration piled on with another investigation launched by the Department of Agriculture, which it claims provides $100 million in annual funding to the University of Maine, a land grant college.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins released a statement Saturday announcing a “compliance review of the University of Maine following the State of Maine’s blatant disregard for President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14201, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

“President Trump has made it abundantly clear: taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars will not support institutions that discriminate against women,” Rollins said. “USDA is committed to upholding the President’s executive order, meaning any institution that chooses to disregard it can count on losing future funding.”

Following Mills’ defiant response at Friday’s meeting, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) described his colleagues as “a little bit distressed by that back and forth.”

“It seemed it was a little bit harsh — and it wasn’t yelling, but it was unnecessary conflict,” he told The New York Times.

It was just “a moment,” he added, “but she stood firm against him.”

After the DOE announced its probe targeting Maine, Mills remained defiant.

“Do not be misled: this is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation,” Mills said in a statement issued Friday. “I believe he cannot.”

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