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Donald Trump and Maine’s governor clashed at the White House over executive order compliance. Maine is defying Trump’s executive order preventing trans athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports.
The blue state is one of several defying Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order preventing trans athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports.
Trump threatened Thursday to cut off federal funding to Maine before clashing with Mills at a bipartisan meeting of governors.
Trump, Maine’s governor clashed at the White House
“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.
“Good, I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be an easy one. And enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics,” Trump concluded.
Mills released a statement on Friday: “The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.”
“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,” she added.
Trump told a gathering of Republican governors in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that “I heard men are still playing in Maine.”
“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 cannot believe that they’re doing that… So we’re not going to give them any federal funding, none whatsoever, until they clean that up,” he added.
Trump’s executive order, which was signed on Feb. 5, instructed all federal agencies to review grants, programs and policies that fail to comply with the administration’s efforts to end “male competitive participation in women’s sports… as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
