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‘See you in court’: Governor refuses to bow to Trump’s bigoted ban [1]
['Daily Kos Staff']
Date: 2025-02-21
President Donald Trump tried to intimidate Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills at a White House event on Friday after the state opposed his executive order banning transgender children in school sports. But instead of bowing to Trump, Mills said officials would continue challenging the order in court.
The confrontation occurred during a meeting of the Governors Working Session, which governors from several states attended.
“Are you not going to comply with [the ban]?” Trump asked.
“I’m complying with state and federal laws,” Mills replied.
“Well I am—we are the federal law,” Trump answered, incorrectly interpreting how laws work in the United States. “You better do it, because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
“See you in court,” Mills immediately answered.
Trump went on to say that Mills should “enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
Mills has been Maine’s governor since 2019. She was reelected in 2022, and state law prohibits her from seeking a third consecutive term.
Trump’s order, “Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,” directs the federal government to withhold support and funding for schools that allow transgender children to participate in sports.
The order is already facing legal challenges for violating anti-discrimination laws, and it’s the subject of a lawsuit from transgender teenagers in New Hampshire—just one example of a growing wave of legal challenges to Trump’s discriminatory actions.
Trump also referenced his plans to cut off funding to Maine during a meeting of Republican governors on Thursday.
“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,” Mills said in a statement in response.
Trump has repeatedly falsely asserted that he isn’t just above the law, but that he is the law. He’s even gone as far as describing himself as a “king.” But he is not a monarch, and like all elected leaders in the country, his job is to work for the people.
Anti-trans bigotry has been a hallmark of the Republican Party for several years, and the party has pushed legislation at the federal and state level attempting to restrict transgender rights and access to gender-affirming care.
During his remarks on Friday, Trump claimed that a transgender athlete who participated in women’s boxing was a man who had “transitioned” and used their physicality to intimidate women boxers.
This is a lie that Trump frequently uses to push his anti-trans agenda—one that is now targeting Maine’s schoolchildren.
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