Governor Vows to 'Vigorously Defend' Maine From Trump Attack on Trans Women
"This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation," said Janet Mills.
Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills responded Wednesday to a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against the state for defying President Donald Trump's efforts to ban transgender women and girls from female sports by vowing to defend the rule of law against what she called the White House's illegal attacks.
"Today is the latest, expected salvo in an unprecedented campaign to pressure the state of Maine to ignore the Constitution and abandon the rule of law," Mills said in response to the lawsuit, which accuses state officials of "openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law by enforcing policies that require girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions designated exclusively for girls."
The suit comes days after the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced it would begin cutting off federal K-12 education funding following an agency investigation and after the state rejected a list of the Trump administration's demands regarding transgender s-athletes.
"This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls."
Mlils argued Wednesday that "this matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls, as has been claimed, it is about states rights and defending the rule of law against a federal government bent on imposing its will, instead of upholding the law."
The Trump administration's sweeping war on transgender rights includes redefining Title IX anti-discrimination law to cancel protection for trans and nonbinary people, trying to reinstate his first-term ban on openly transgender people from military service, ending "X" gender markers on passports, banning federal support for gender-affirming healthcare, pressuring schools to censor lessons and materials about trans and nonbinary people, erasing transgender people and stories from government-run institutions and websites, and much more. Hundreds of anti-trans bills have also been passed or proposed in nearly every state.
Announcing the lawsuit at a DOJ press briefing, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi—who warned that other noncompliant states including California and Minnesota might also be sued—said that i"this has been a huge issue" for Trump.
"We have exhausted every other remedy," Bondi added. "We tried to get Maine to comply. We don't like standing up here and filing lawsuits, we want to get states to comply with us."
However, Mills said that U.S. District Judge John Woodcock's April 11 order for the Trump administration to unfreeze funding for a children's nutrition program that was suspended over the transgender athlete issue "reinforces our position that the federal government has been acting unlawfully."
Mills stoked Trump's ire for resisting his threats to cut off federal funding if she did not move to ban transgender women and girls from female teams—an action that would violate state law explicitly prohibiting gender identity-based discrimination. During a February White House meeting with governors, Trump called out Mills for her defiance and again threatened to cut off funding.
"We're going to follow the law, sir," Mills replied. "We'll see you in court."
This further incensed Trump, whose demand for Mills to apologize was widely mocked. The Trump administration then temporarily forced new Maine parents to register their newborns for a Social Security number at a government office rather than at hospitals, a policy quickly rescinded amid public uproar.
Earlier this month, Maine sued the Trump administration in a bid to stop it from implementing any funding freeze.
"For nearly two months, Maine has endured recriminations from the federal government that have targeted hungry school kids, hardworking fishermen, senior citizens, new parents, and countless Maine people," Mills said Wednesday. "We have been subject to politically motivated investigations that opened and closed without discussion, leaving little doubt that their outcomes were predetermined."
"Let today serve as warning to all states: Maine might be among the first to draw the ire of the federal government in this way, but we will not be the last," Mills said.e "My administration and Maine's attorney general will vigorously defend our state against the action announced today from the Department of Justice."
"This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation," she added. "I believe he cannot."
