On Friday, February 21, 2025, a heated debate ensued between President Donald Trump and Maine’s Governor Janet Mills at a White House event with governors. The point of contention was the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
During the event, tensions escalated as Trump threatened to cut federal funding to Maine if the state did not adhere to his recent executive order. The order disallows transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports competitions.
Trump directly questioned Governor Mills on Maine’s compliance with his “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, signed on February 5. This order instructs federal agencies to interpret Title IX rules as prohibiting transgender girls and women from competing in female sports categories.
“Are you not going to comply with that?” Trump pointedly asked Mills, referring to his executive order.
Mills retorted that she would obey state and federal laws, which led to Trump proclaiming, “Well, I’m — we are the federal law,” adding, “Well, you better do it. You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
The argument heightened when Mills responded: “See you in court.”
“Good,” Trump retorted. “I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be an easy one. And enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
After the White House altercation, Mills defended Maine’s stance. She vowed that if the President attempts to deprive Maine schoolchildren of the benefits of federal funding single-handedly, her administration and the Maine Attorney General would take all necessary legal steps to restore the funding and the academic opportunities it provides. She emphasized that Maine will not be intimidated by the president’s threats.
This dispute between Trump and Mills underscores a larger struggle between federal executive action and state laws. Currently, Maine does not have laws that prevent transgender girls from playing on teams that align with their gender identity, and the Maine Human Rights Act explicitly protects transgender athletes.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has stated that any attempt by Trump to cut federal funding over this issue would be illegal and a violation of federal court orders. Frey asserts that the president cannot legally withhold funds that Congress has designated for specific purposes.
On Friday, the controversy took a new turn when the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) initiated a “directed investigation” into the Maine Department of Education. According to a department news release, the probe stems from allegations that the state continues to allow male athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
The department mentioned a Maine high school that allegedly allowed at least one male student to compete in girls’ categories. This investigation started after a Republican state representative in Maine disclosed the name of a transgender high school student who had won a girls’ pole vault championship on Facebook.
Similar probes have been initiated into the Minnesota State High School League and the California Interscholastic Federation for alleged breaches of federal anti-discrimination laws. The Department of Education maintains that state laws do not supersede federal anti-discrimination laws and will ensure taxpayer funds are not used to fund civil rights violations.
The executive order signed by Trump on February 5 aims to protect what the administration describes as opportunities for women and girls to compete in “safe and fair sports.” The order instructs the Secretary of Education to take action to “affirmatively protect all-female athletic opportunities and locker rooms” and to prioritize Title IX enforcement actions against institutions that allow transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
Furthermore, the order directs the federal government to gather representatives of athletic organizations, female athletes, and state attorneys general to promote policies that align with the administration’s interpretation of Title IX. It also requests the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to review and adjust policies that permit “males seeking to participate in women’s sports in the United States.”
Trump’s order has already triggered significant policy changes in college athletics. Following Trump’s directive, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) revised its participation policy for transgender student-athletes, limiting competition in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth. This new policy immediately took effect and applies to all athletes regardless of previous eligibility reviews.
The timing of Trump’s executive order coincided with the 39th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day, a fact noted by critics. LGBTQ rights organizations have slammed the order as “discriminatory” and an attempt at “fearmongering” about what they describe as a “vanishingly small subset” of people.
Legal opposition to the executive order has already begun. Two transgender high school students in New Hampshire have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the order. Legal experts predict that the Supreme Court’s final decision on this case could set a precedent for the rest of the country, as the Court has not yet issued a final ruling on transgender athletes in K-12 sports.
As the controversy over transgender athletes’ participation in sports continues, the focus now shifts to the courts. Here, the legal limits of executive power and the interpretation of Title IX will be examined. The financial implications are significant for Maine, which receives approximately 10% of its education budget from federal sources.
