(NewsNation) — The war between Maine’s governor and President Donald Trump has intensified as they butt heads over transgender athletes.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said her state will follow the law and allow trans athletes to compete in women’s sports, defying an executive order that bans their participation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has given the state university $100 million in recent years, said the school is now under a compliance review, putting future funds in jeopardy.
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Mills and Trump had a heated confrontation about the issue on Friday at the White House and the USDA opened an investigation over alleged Title IX violations the very next day.
Mills responded in a statement saying she will not bow to 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 said, “The state of Maine will not be intimidated by the president’s threats.”
Writer and famous Maine resident Stephen King praised Mills, thanking her for standing up to the “bully” in a post on X.
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The debate started in early February when the Maine Principal’s Association said it would defy Trump’s executive order and continue to allow transgender women to compete under state law.
Public opinion doesn’t side with Maine, with a recent Ipsos poll found that only 18% of Americans believe trans women should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby posted a photo on Facebook that went viral, showing a high school pole vaulter who finished in 5th place competing in boy’s pole vault but after transitioning won first place as a woman in the state championship.
“It is absolutely not fair for females to be displaced and to have their voices silenced by a male and so I posted the photo side by side of him one year ago, winning fifth place at a regional competition as a boy and winning the state championship this year as a girl,” Libby said. “And I think it was shocking to folks because we hear the stories about boys participating in girl’s sports but we don’t see the reality.”
Maine receives $250 million for K-12 schools, which is now in jeopardy.
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Maine isn’t the only state challenging Trump on this issue. New Jersey and California are also defying the executive order.
Kim Jones, a former Division 1 tennis player from Stanford is the co-founder of Icons, which aims to protect women’s sports. She says Maine and other states that have state laws protecting trans women’s participation should be held accountable.
“Federal law absolutely gives the federal government the opportunity to withhold funding, it’s what they’re called to do,” Jones said. “To withhold funding from states or institutions in direct violation of Title IX. That’s how Title IX works.”
