Maine Gov. Janet Mills doubles down on defying Trump's attacks on trans rights after court victory
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, isn't backing down from President Donald Trump's escalating war on transgender rights — and a federal judge is standing with her.
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Days after a federal district court ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze school meal funding for Maine, Mills appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe to defend her state's refusal to enforce Trump's executive order banning transgender girls and women from participating in school sports.
Related: Maine Gov. Janet Mills confronts Donald Trump to his face over anti-trans sports order at White House
'When he said, 'I am the law, basically we are the law,' my jaw dropped,' Mills said about a recent incident with Trump. 'Every fifth-grade student knows that there are three branches of government.'
In February, during a White House meeting with governors, Trump threatened Mills directly, warning her that she would lose all federal funding if she didn't comply. 'I'm complying with the state and federal laws,' Mills replied. And later: 'See you in court.' Hours after the interaction, the Trump administration announced an investigation into Maine.
True to her word, Mills took the administration to court. On Friday, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock Jr., a George W. Bush appointee based in Bangor, ruled that the Trump administration violated federal law when it froze funding for Maine's school nutrition programs, which serve more than 170,000 students. 'They decided to shut off funding for our school nutrition program, the school lunch program entirely, on which 172,000 Maine school children rely for their school meals,' Mills said. 'That didn't make any sense.'
But the administration didn't stop there.
Related: Government launches investigation into Maine hours after Democratic governor stood up to Trump's 'bullying'
According to Maine CBS affiliate WGME, the Department of Justice also canceled over $1.4 million in funding for Maine's Department of Corrections, citing the state's policy of housing transgender people in prison according to their gender identity after medical and psychological review.
One case in particular drew the administration's attention: Andrea Balcer, a transgender woman serving a 40-year sentence for the 2016 murder of her parents. WGME reports that after several years of evaluation, Balcer was moved from the Maine State Prison to a women's facility in late 2022 — a placement consistent with Maine's long-standing corrections policy.
For Mills, the administration's attempt to punish Maine's incarcerated women and families over the existence of a transgender inmate is exactly the irrational and retaliatory action the courts rejected.
'They sent us a letter about the Department of Corrections because they found out there's a transgender individual in our prisons, and on account of that, they're stopping funding for the program that allows women inmates to bond with their children,' Mills said. 'Why would you punish women inmates over here because of something happening over there? It is not rational. And the judge said the law, the federal statute doesn't allow you to do that.'
Mills warned that Trump's efforts to strip away funding for vital services — from school meals to substance use treatment — won't stop with Maine.
'What if he discovers that there's somebody on Social Security who happens to be transgender? Does he vacate the whole Social Security program?' she asked.
With her second and final term as governor set to end in 2026, Mills is increasingly seen as a potential challenger to Republican Sen. Susan Collins, whose standing in Maine has weakened after years of alignment with Trump's judicial agenda. A recent poll by Portland-based Digital Research showed Mills with a higher approval rating than Collins — and a growing profile as a governor unafraid to stand up to the White House.
As the legal battle continues, Mills has made clear where Maine stands.
'I've spent my career, the better part of my career, defending and protecting the rights of women and girls in health care, in employment, housing, credit, and the like,' she said. 'And I'm appalled. I was appalled at his interpretation that he can just reinvent the law.'
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