Maine Governor Janet Mills released a statement on Friday in response to the announcement that the U.S. Department of Education will be investigating her state for allowing trans athletes to compete in girls’ sports, defying a recent executive order by President Donald Trump.
In Mills’ statement, she suggested that Trump’s investigation into her state’s potential Title IX violations is an indicator that the president will later target people based on their race or religion.
“Maine may [be] one of the first states to undergo an investigation by his administration, but we won’t be the last. Today, the President of the United States has targeted one particular group on one particular issue which Maine law has addressed. But you must ask yourself: who and what will he target next, and what will he do? Will it be you? Will it be because of your race or your religion? Will it be because you look different or think differently? Where does it end? In America, the President is neither a King nor a dictator, as much as this one tries to act like it – and it is the rule of law that prevents him from being so,” Mills said.
“I imagine that the outcome of this politically directed investigation is all but predetermined. My Administration will begin work with the Attorney General to defend the interests of Maine people in the court of law. But 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. I believe he cannot.”
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Mills also insisted that Trump has no authority to withhold federal funding from her state for refusing to comply with his recent executive order to ban trans athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, which the president vowed to do in a speech on Thursday.
“No President – Republican or Democrat – can withhold Federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will. It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold,” Mills said.
Maine is the fourth state to have a Title IX investigation launched against it for defying Trump’s order since it was signed on Feb. 5. The DOE announced on Feb. 12 it would be investigating the high school athletic associations in California and Minnesota after those states refused to comply with Trump’s recent order.
Before that, the DOE announced on Feb. 6 it would investigate the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) alongside San Jose State University and the University of Pennsylvania for potential Title IX violations.
Now, Maine joins that list after a confrontational two days between Trump and Mills.
It started on Thursday when Trump vowed to cut funding to the state for refusing to follow his order during a gathering of Republican governors in Washington.
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“I hate to tell you this, but we’re not going to give them any federal money, they are still saying ‘we want men to play in women’s sports’ and I can not believe that they’re doing that… So we’re not going to give them any federal funding, none whatsoever, until they clean that up.”
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Maine received more than $360 million, or about 10.1 percent of its education funding, from the federal government in the 2021-22 fiscal year.
On Friday, Mills’ office responded with a statement threatening legal action against the Trump Administration if it did withhold federal funding from the state. Then, Trump and Mills verbally sparred in a widely-publicized argument at the White House during a bipartisan meeting of governors.
“Are you not going to comply with that?” Trump asked Mills.
“I’m complying with state and federal laws,” she responded, before Trump said “Well, we are the federal law” and “you better do it, 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, your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports, so you better comply because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding,” Trump continued.
“We’ll see you in court,” Mills responded.
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“Good, I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one. And enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics,” Trump concluded.
The DOE investigation against Maine was announced just hours later.
Maine came under national scrutiny for allowing trans athletes in girls’ sports amid the state’s refusal to comply with Trump’s order and a recent incident involving a trans pole vaulter.
During a state championship track and field meet, Katie Spencer, who previously competed as a male named John Rydzewski in pole-vaulting as recently as June 2024, out-jumped every other female by half a foot. Spencer’s winning pole vault was pivotal in helping Spencer’s track and field team at Greely High School in Cumberland, Maine, win the Class B state championship meet by just a single point.
Due to the win, Spencer has now automatically qualified for the multistate regional championships, taking the spot that would have been awarded to the female athlete who garnered second place had Spencer competed in the boys’ division.
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A female high school track and field athlete praised Trump for intervening in the situation on Friday.
Zoe, who competed in shot put at Maine’s Class B state indoor championship meet on Monday, said she is “grateful” for the president’s announcement that he will be cutting federal funding to Maine over its defiance of Trump’s order to keep men out of women’s sports, adding that leaders in the state “have failed our female athletes.”
“State leaders have failed our female athletes and there needs to be repercussions for their neglect,” Zoe said. “We feel seen and heard because of this announcement and hope that steps will continue to be made to protect women’s sports in Maine.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Partisan elected officials and judicial activists who seek to legally obstruct President Trump’s agenda are defying the will of 77 million Americans who overwhelmingly re-elected President Trump,” and added that “their efforts will fail.”
“All of President Trump’s executive actions are lawful, constitutional and intended to deliver on the promises he made to the American people,” Leavitt said. “The Trump Administration is prepared to fight these battles in court and will prevail.”
Fox News Digital’s Alex Schemel contributed to this report.
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