President Trump is demanding a “full throated apology” from Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) after her opposition to the president’s executive order to keep men out of women’s sports.
In February, Trump and Mills sparred at the White House Governors’ Conference over the president’s executive order titled, “No Men in Women’s Sports.” The order could result in federal funding loss if any state universities attempted to ignore or circumvent it.
After Trump challenged Mills on whether she intended to implement the order, she referred to her state’s current law, which allows trans athlete participation, and told the president she would “see you in court.” Trump replied, “You better do it because you’re not going to get federal funding.”
Maine's Governor, Janet Mills has caved and is now complying with Trump's ban on men in all female sports.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 21, 2025
This exchange aged well. pic.twitter.com/374NRyJe6y
Trump kept his promise to withhold federal funds. In March, following an investigation, the Department of Agriculture announced a pause in $175 million in funding to the state. The University of Maine System (USM) relented and complied with Trump’s order, and funding was soon restored.
The USDA announced Maine’s policy reversal.
“After the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated a Title IX compliance review regarding federal funding, the University of Maine System (UMaine) has clearly communicated its compliance with Title IX’s requirement to protect equal opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports, as articulated in President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order. Any false claim by the UMaine can, and will, result in onerous and even potentially criminal financial liability.
“UMaine’s decision to side with sanity is a win for women and girls in Maine.”
However, Maine’s surrender to the executive order does not mean Trump is done with them yet.
In a Truth Social message posted on Saturday, Trump demanded Governor Mills personally issue a “full throated apology” for her “unlawful challenge to the Federal Government.”
“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 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. I’m sure she will be able to do that quite easily. Thank you for your attention to this matter and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!! DJT”
Governor Mills has not yet said whether she will apologize.
