Trump demands Maine governor apologize — or the state will face consequences
President Donald Trump is demanding a 'full throated apology' from Maine Gov. Janet Mills in his spat with the state over transgender athletes, implying his administration will continue to target the state unless he gets one.
The Democratic governor got into an argument with the president during a governors' meeting at the White House in February, telling the president '
we'll see you in court
' when he threatened to pull federal funding from the state if it failed to comply with his order to ban trans athletes from playing in women's and girls sports.
His administration subsequently opened overlapping investigations into Maine, including probes launched by
the Departments of Education
,
Health and Human Services
and Agriculture
.
The president in a Saturday morning
Truth Social post
demanded Mills deliver a 'full throated apology' for her earlier comments and promise to never pose a 'challenge' to the federal government again.
'While the State of Maine has apologized for their Governor's strong, but totally incorrect, statement about men playing in women's sports while at the White House House Governor's Conference, we have not heard from the Governor herself, and she is the one that matters in such cases,' Trump wrote. 'Therefore, we need a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again, before this case can be settled.'
It was not clear what apology from the state of Maine he was referencing, or what apparent case was being settled. The White House declined to comment on the president's post or clarify what consequences the governor and her state could face for not apologizing.
Mills' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration has increasingly sought to pressure schools into compliance with the president's
Feb. 5 executive order
banning trans women and girls from competing in women's sports. The order relies on Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding, as its foundation.
The Biden administration had previously said that barring trans athletes from participating in sports was a Title IX violation.
The White House has threatened to halt federal funding for schools as a leverage point to force compliance with its Title IX interpretation and the president's executive order. On Wednesday, the
White House announced
that it had 'paused $175 million in federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania' over the school's policies allowing trans athletes to compete.
One of the Trump administration's investigations into Maine,
led by the Department of Agriculture
into the state's university system, resulted in a temporary pause in USDA funding for Maine's school system. The pause, announced March 10, would have affected programs directly benefiting Maine's farmers and foresters funded by the millions of dollars provided through the USDA to the state's land grant university.
Two days after USDA announced its funding pause, it backpedaled, saying it would restore funding to the university system. Earlier this week, the department cleared the University of Maine of Title IX violations, saying it had 'clearly communicated its compliance' with Title IX guidance under the Trump administration.
In response, UMaine Chancellor Dannel Malloy said the school system was 'relieved to put the Department's Title IX compliance review behind us so the land-grant University of Maine and our statewide partners can continue to leverage USDA and other essential federal funds to strengthen and grow our natural resource economy and dependent rural communities through world-class education, research and extension.'
But UMaine also said it had never strayed from Title IX compliance.
'The University of Maine System has always maintained its compliance with State and Federal laws and with NCAA rules,' Malloy's statement read.
A spokesperson for the university system also told POLITICO that 'when the NCAA updated its rules in February, it required no changes in our universities' policies or which of our student-athletes could participate.'
The USDA's proclamation that the state's universities were found to be Title IX compliant didn't mark the end of the state's battle with the administration.
On Wednesday, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights told Maine's state education department that it had concluded its investigation. The federal agency determined the state was violating Title IX,
offering the state Department of Education
'an opportunity to voluntarily agree within 10 days or risk imminent enforcement action including referral to the U.S. Department of Justice.'
And in addition to Trump's Saturday morning apology demand, USDA's March 19 announcement clearing the school system also included a not-so-veiled message for the rest of the state, writing in bolded letters: 'The choice for the rest of Maine is simple: protect equal opportunities for women, as required by law, or lose funding.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oil inches up, outcome of US-China trade talks awaited
By Anjana Anil (Reuters) -Oil prices edged up on Tuesday as market participants waited for the outcome of U.S.-China talks that could pave the way for easing trade tensions and improve fuel demand. Brent crude futures edged up 12 cents to $67.16 a barrel at 0041 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading up 13 cents at $65.42, after hitting its highest since April 4 earlier in the session. On Monday, Brent had risen to $67.19, the highest since April 28, buoyed by the prospect of a U.S.-China trade deal. U.S.-China trade talks were set to continue for a second day in London as top officials aimed to ease tensions that have expanded from tariffs to rare earth curbs, risking global supply chain disruptions and slower growth. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the talks were going well and he was "only getting good reports" from his team in London. A trade deal between the U.S. and China could support the global economic outlook and boost demand for commodities including oil. Elsewhere, Iran said it would soon hand a counter-proposal for a nuclear deal to the U.S. in response to a U.S. offer that Tehran deems "unacceptable", while Trump made clear that the two sides remained at odds over whether the country would be allowed to continue enriching uranium on Iranian soil. Iran is the third-largest producer among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and any easing of U.S. sanctions on Iran would allow it to export more oil, weighing on global crude prices. Meanwhile, a Reuters survey found that OPEC oil output rose in May, although the increase was limited as Iraq pumped below target to compensate for earlier overproduction and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates made smaller hikes than allowed. OPEC+, which pumps about half of the world's oil and includes OPEC members and allies such as Russia, is accelerating its plan to unwind its most recent layer of output cuts. "The prospect of further hikes in OPEC supply continues to hang over the market," Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a note. "A permanent shift to a market driven strategy (in OPEC) would push the oil market into a sizeable surplus in H2 2025 and almost surely lead to lower oil prices." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNN
20 minutes ago
- CNN
About 700 Marines being mobilized in response to LA protests
More than 700 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California have been mobilized to respond to the protests in Los Angeles, and the troops will join the thousands of National Guard members who were activated by President Donald Trump over the weekend without the consent of California's governor or LA's mayor. The deployment of the full Marine battalion marks a significant escalation in Trump's use of the military as a show of force against protesters, but it is still unclear what their specific task will be once in LA, sources told CNN. Like the National Guard troops, they are prohibited from conducting law enforcement activity such as making arrests unless Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, which permits the president to use the military to end an insurrection or rebellion of federal power. The Marines being activated are with 2nd battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine division, according to US Northern Command. The activation is 'intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency,' NORTHCOM said in statement, referring to US Army north's contingency command post. One of the people familiar with the Marine mobilization said they will be augmenting the guard presence on the ground in LA. Over 2,000 members of the California National Guard have been activated by the president, but only about 300 have been deployed to the streets of LA so far. Those initial 300 people were on a routine National Guard drill weekend when they were mobilized, which is why they were able to arrive so quickly, the person familiar said; it can take up to 72 hours for other guardsmen to be mobilized. The Marines are expected to bolster some of the guard members who have been deployed to LA in the last two days, this person said. And while the person familiar stressed that the Marines were being deployed only to augment the forces already there, the image of US Marines mobilizing inside the United States will stand in contrast to National Guardsmen who more routinely respond to domestic issues. While some Marines have been assisting in border security at the southern border, one US official said Marines have not been mobilized within the US like they are in California now since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. While the Marines' tasks have not been specified publicly, they could include assignments like crowd control or establishing perimeter security. Lawyers within the Defense Department are also still finalizing language around the use-of-force guidelines for the troops being mobilized, but the person familiar said it will likely mirror the military's standing rules of the use of force. California Gov. Gavin Newsom described the involvement of Marines as 'unwarranted' and 'unprecedented.' 'The level of escalation is completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented — mobilizing the best in class branch of the U.S. military against its own citizens,' Newsom said in a statement linking to a news story about the Marines mobilizing. Newsom disputed the characterization as a 'deployment,' which the governor described as different from mobilization. US Northern Command said in their statement, however, that the Marines will 'seamlessly integrate' with National Guard forces 'protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.' Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell called for 'open and continuous lines of communication' between all agencies responding to protests in the city ahead of the deployment of US Marines. McDonell said in a statement that his agency and other partner agencies have experience dealing with large-scale demonstrations and safety remains a top priority for them. That communication will 'prevent confusion, avoid escalation, and ensure a coordinated, lawful, and orderly response during this critical time,' McDonnell stressed. This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
Axios
22 minutes ago
- Axios
Freshman wishlist: Adam Schiff vs. Trump 2.0
Sen. Adam Schiff has some advice for President Trump when attempting to demean him: Pick one nickname. Why it matters: Schiff rose to cable TV stardom as an anti-Trump foil while leading the first impeachment. "Shifty Schiff" or "Watermelon Head" learned to give as good as he got. Trump called Schiff names. Schiff ensured he was impeached — twice. "[T]he cardinal rule of nicknames is: Just stick with one," Schiff told Axios in an interview. Schiff translated his MAGA notoriety into a safe Senate seat, first battling through a tough, expensive primary. Now he's ready for round two with Trump. "I've been thrust back into a lot of that responsibility again because what he's trying to do in the second term is even worse than what he tried to do in the first term," Schiff said. Zoom out: Before Trump dominated the national conversation, Schiff considered himself a fairly nonpartisan national security expert. He endorsed Jim Mattis for Secretary of Defense in 2016 when other Democrats didn't. Schiff had hoped for another rebrand in the Senate. "I was expecting a Biden or a Harris presidency, and the ability to just focus exclusively on what positive things I could get done," he told Axios. What to watch: He is enjoying visiting redder areas of the state after spending years representing just a slice of heavily Democratic Los Angeles. He shared about one such visit in the state's northeast. "I knew I had made progress when one of the farmers looked at me and said, 'I don't know why he calls you watermelon head. You have a perfectly normal-sized head.'" But it's doubtful he'll revert back to a less partisan posture, given the direction of Trump's second term. Driving the news: Two days after our interview, Trump deployed National Guard troops to tamp down on ICE protests in Los Angeles in opposition to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.). "This action is designed to inflame tensions, sow chaos, and escalate the situation," Schiff posted on X on Saturday. He also repeatedly called for violence to stop at protests. "Assaulting law enforcement is never ok," he posted Sunday. Zoom in: Schiff tried to pass a resolution shortly before our interview to stop the administration from stripping civil rights leader Harvey Milk's name from a Navy ship. He has demanded financial disclosures from the White House, written letters to stop DOGE from shutting down USDA offices and tried to block the repeal of EV rules. "Most of my days are spent trying to walk this line between stopping the administration from violating the law and ignoring the Constitution on the one hand," Schiff said, "and continuing to deliver for Californians..." Schiff recognizes that his clashes altered his career trajectory. "I have my brand pre-Trump and my brand post-Trump," Schiff told Axios. Between the lines: Schiff's leadership in the House's first Trump impeachment made him a mortal enemy to Trump and his allies, leading to a "weirdly personal" dynamic, Schiff said.
