President Donald Trump called on Maine Gov. Janet Mills to apologise to him for her state's reluctance to follow his executive order to ban women's sports trans athletes over the weekend, and Mills now responded without apologizing.
Mills spoke to reporters in Bangor on Monday, claiming that rejecting Trump and claiming he was reluctant to follow her state's executive orders is rooted in the “rule of law.”
“My problem is about the pure and simple rule of law,” Mills said. “It's not about transgender sports, it's about who writes the law and who enforces the law. I've read the Constitution, which states that the President, the CEO, must be aware of faithfully executing the law.
Mills also denounced Trump for his stance on abortion and tariffs, and never once mentioned the president by name.
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Maine Governor Janet Mills is currently undergoing a governor's work session on Friday, February 21, 2025 in the state dining room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA. (Francis Chong/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We've seen policies that threaten women and girls across the country,” Mills said. “If a current White House resident wants to protect women and girls, he must start by protecting women and teenage girls who are dying from miscarriage.
“Look, the issue isn't about trans sports. People from Maine and across the country are waiting for economic plans from current residents of the White House. So far, we've seen nothing. We've seen tariffs and tariff threats that threaten the economy here in Maine and across the country.”
Trump's first request for an apology from Mills came on Saturday morning to a true social post.
“Maine has apologised at the White House Governor's meeting for the governor's strong but completely wrong about the man playing in women's sports, but has never heard of it from the governor herself and she is important in such cases,” Trump said.
“Therefore, we need a full throat apology from the governor herself and a statement that she will not again take such an illegal challenge to the federal government, before we can resolve this case. I am sure she can do it very easily.
The feud between the two began on February 20th, when Trump threatened to cut federal funds to the state to not ban trans athletes from girls and girls' sports during the GOP Governor's meeting.
The next day, Mills' office responded with a statement threatening legal action against the Trump administration if it withholds federal funds from the state. Trump and Mills then spawned verbally in a widely publicized discussion at the White House during a bipartisan meeting of the governor.
“Are you planning on following that?” Trump asked Mills.
The main girl involved in the Trans Athlete Battle reveals how state policies hurt her childhood and sports career
“I'm complying with state and federal laws,” she replied, “Well, we're federal laws.”
“You better do that. If you don't, you'll never get any federal funds, so you better do that,” he continued. “And by the way, despite your population being a bit liberal, I did well there, but your population doesn’t want men to play with women’s sports.
“See you in court,” replied Mills.
“Like, see you in court. I look forward to it. It should be really easy. And enjoy life after the governor, as I don't think you're in elected politics,” Trump concluded.
The Department of Education released a Title IX investigation into Maine hours later.
Since then, multiple protests against Mills have been detained outside the state capital, and the University of Maine system has worked with the Trump administration to prevent trans athletes from competing in women's sports after temporary funding has been suspended.
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights (OCR) officially announced the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principal Association and Greeley High School in violation of Title IX to enable continuous trans-inclusion in women's sports.
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Acting OCR Director Anthony Arkeval has submitted a digital warning to Fox News of the potential consequences of the executive order's continued rebellion.
“What HHS wants from the Maine Department of Education, the Main Principal Association (MPA) and Greeley High School – protecting the rights of female athletes. Girls deserve girls only sports without male competitors.
The HHS initial announcement warned that there will be 10 days for states to amend their policies, either through signed contracts or referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice, for appropriate action.
The deadline to follow is this Thursday.
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