In the wake of President Donald Trump’s threat to pull over $280 million in federal funding from Maine schools if they continue to allow males to compete in girls’ sports, Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) vowed that the state would take legal action to resist him.
“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. The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats,” said Gov. Mills.
If Mills follows through on her threat to sue the Trump administration over the president’s attempt to pull funding, it would add to a rapidly growing list of legal actions taken in Maine and across the nation to hinder his agenda.
After Trump’s initial statement, he berated Mills in person for her refusal to comply with his executive order.
“Well you better do it, [comply with the order], you better do it, because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t. And, by the way, your population, even though it’s somewhat liberal, although I did very well there, you’re population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports,” said Trump.
Mills responded, telling Trump, “See you in court.”
“Good, I’ll see you in court, I look forward to that, that should be a real easy one,” said Trump.
He went on to tell Mills that he does not think that she has any future in elected politics.
The controversy came after President Trump singled out Maine during a speech on Thursday at the Republican Governors Association (RGA), promising to pull funding in response to a transgender-identifying male dominating a high school girls’ pole vault competition.
“I heard men are still playing in Maine,” said Trump, “Well, I hate to tell you this, but we’re not going to give them any federal money. They are saying that we want men to play in women’s sports and I cannot believe that they’re doing that.”
President Trump’s comments puts Maine Democrats in a difficult position. They can either stay silent and lose support from radical leftists who could see silence as capitulation, or oppose the president and risk losing the majority of Democrat voters who believe men have no place in women’s sports.
Recent polling shows that 79 percent of Americans, and even 67 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning Americans, believe that men should not compete in women’s sports.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) tried to have it both ways when spoke out in response to the president’s statement, condemning his actions while acknowledging that males should not be allowed to compete in girls’ sports.
“Every child has a right to a quality education and it’s wrong to punish every Maine school over a policy disagreement that applies to a small fraction of students,” said Rep. Golden.
He clarified that he agrees with the underlying argument that men should not be in women’s sports, but opposes the president’s methodology.
“I also believe the state got this policy wrong; In public schools in Maine, biological boys shouldn’t compete in sports against biological girls. While we in Congress wrestle over the role of the federal government versus the states in education, state political and education leaders have the authority to resolve this issue, and they should,” said Golden.
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) weighed in with a statement on BlueSky Social, calling Trump’s efforts an unconstitutional abuse of power.
“Federal funding is not a political bargaining chip, 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 his extreme and discriminatory agenda,” said Rep. Pingree.
Pingree’s belief that the agenda is “extreme” does not align with polling that shows the vast majority of Americans are opposed to males in women’s sports.
Maine’s Senior Senator Susan Collins (R), widely considered a moderate, issued a lengthy statement in response to the escalating situation, urging respectful treatment of transgender-identifying people and opposing the president’s method, while, like Golden, speaking against men in women’s sports.
“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,” said Sen. Collins in a statement provided to the Bangor Daily News.
“I oppose the President’s attempt to curtail funding for Maine, and will advocate vigorously for our fair share of federal funding for Maine schools. And again, I believe that we must treat transgender people with respect and dignity,” she added.
While Democrats face a potential lose-lose situation, some Republicans have celebrated the President’s comments.
“President Trump pledges to step in to protect girls’ sports in Maine and clean up the failure by both the Maine Principals’ Association and the Maine Democrat Majority,” said Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn).
Rep. Libby faced backlash from Democrats for initially publishing a picture of the transgender-identifying male standing victorious over girls.
The President’s promise also drew praise from Riley Gaines, a prominent conservative activist opposed to boys competing in girls’ sports.
“Moral clarity & accountability are back in the White House. Praise God,” said Gaines.
The Maine Wire reached out to the Maine Principals Association (MPA), asking if they would change their policy and bar males from girls’ sports following Trump’s threats, but they did not respond.
Up to this point, the MPA and other educational authorities have stuck to their plan of resisting Trump, though it remains unclear how long that resistance can last in the face of Trump’s threats to cut funding, or how the courts might intervene on this question.
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