Governor Releases Statement about Trump Executive Order
Maine Governor Janet Mills has doubled down on her state’s transgender policies, releasing a statement on Sunday filled with sharp rhetoric about the Trump administration’s alleged disregard for the rule of law. This latest escalation comes after a tense exchange between Mills and the president at a White House event on Friday, during which the governor threatened legal action over Maine’s transgender policies. The following day, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a federal review of the University of Maine’s compliance with Title IX, following Trump’s recent executive order restricting male athletes from competing in women’s sports.
Mills wasted no time in pushing back, calling the investigation “politically directed” and confirming that both her administration and Maine’s attorney general are preparing a legal challenge. Her statement was heavy with warnings, casting Trump’s actions as an authoritarian overreach rather than a policy dispute.
“But do not be misled: this is not just about who can compete on the athletic field,” Mills declared. “This is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation.”
It’s a familiar argument, one often deployed when the Left finds itself at odds with the policies of a Republican administration. But Mills didn’t stop there. She leaned into the fear-mongering playbook, likening the situation to a broader, more ominous agenda.
“You must ask yourself: who and what will he target next? Will it be you? Will it be because of your race or your religion? Will it be because you look different or think differently?”
The governor’s attempt to frame a Title IX compliance review as a precursor to sweeping authoritarianism is, at best, a stretch. But it reveals the deeper strategy at play—positioning Trump’s policy moves as not just conservative governance, but as an existential threat to democracy itself.
Mills also took issue with the administration’s ability to enforce federal funding decisions, calling it unconstitutional. “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.”
Yet here lies the fundamental problem with her argument: it is not up to the governor of Maine to determine the constitutionality of a federal policy. That role belongs to the judiciary, and if Mills follows through on her legal threats, that’s exactly where this battle will be decided.
More importantly, Mills’ resistance ignores a key reality—this is the agenda the American people voted for. In November, they elected Republican leadership to the House, Senate, and White House, endorsing policies like Trump’s executive order on transgender athletes. Since the inauguration, polling indicates growing public support for the administration’s actions. The will of a single blue-state governor does not outweigh the millions of voters who sent this government to Washington.