“I have spent my career – as a District Attorney, as Attorney General, and now as Governor – standing up for the rule of law in Maine and America. To me, that is fundamentally what is at stake here: the rule of law in our country.
“No President – Republican or Democrat – can withhold Federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will. It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold.
“Maine may be one of the first states to undergo an investigation by his Administration, but we won’t be the last. Today, the President of the United States has targeted one particular group on one particular issue which Maine law has addressed. But you must ask yourself: who and what will he target next, and what will he do? Will it be you? Will it be because of your race or your religion? Will it be because you look different or think differently? Where does it end? In America, the President is neither a King nor a dictator, as much as this one tries to act like it – and it is the rule of law that prevents him from being so.
“I imagine that the outcome of this politically directed investigation is all but predetermined. My Administration will begin work with the Attorney General to defend the interests of Maine people in the court of law. But do not be misled: 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. I believe he cannot.”
Today marks what history will call the true beginning of the resistance to Trump’s dictatorship.
Governor Mills has made her position clear: Maine will not kneel. But what matters now is what comes next. The courts cannot be relied upon to stop what is coming. Congress will not intervene. Trump has already demonstrated that his goal is to break every institution that could constrain him.
If this is to be the beginning of real resistance, it must be more than words, more than lawsuits, more than waiting for 2028. It must be the first step toward real state sovereignty, where Maine and other states build the legal, financial, and security infrastructure necessary to ensure that no federal threat—no funding cuts, no legal coercion, no federal edict—can bring them to heel.
The courts will be tied up for months, if not years, while Trump’s administration accelerates its campaign against every noncompliant state. Maine cannot afford to wait. It must act now, preparing for the day when federal institutions will not be the safeguard, but the enforcer of his rule.
This is the moment where defiance must become action. The resistance starts today.
Governor Janet Mills has issued her response to Trump’s threats. It reads:
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“I have spent my career – as a District Attorney, as Attorney General, and now as Governor – standing up for the rule of law in Maine and America. To me, that is fundamentally what is at stake here: the rule of law in our country.
“No President – Republican or Democrat – can withhold Federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will. It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold.
“Maine may be one of the first states to undergo an investigation by his Administration, but we won’t be the last. Today, the President of the United States has targeted one particular group on one particular issue which Maine law has addressed. But you must ask yourself: who and what will he target next, and what will he do? Will it be you? Will it be because of your race or your religion? Will it be because you look different or think differently? Where does it end? In America, the President is neither a King nor a dictator, as much as this one tries to act like it – and it is the rule of law that prevents him from being so.
“I imagine that the outcome of this politically directed investigation is all but predetermined. My Administration will begin work with the Attorney General to defend the interests of Maine people in the court of law. But do not be misled: 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. I believe he cannot.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today marks what history will call the true beginning of the resistance to Trump’s dictatorship.
Governor Mills has made her position clear: Maine will not kneel. But what matters now is what comes next. The courts cannot be relied upon to stop what is coming. Congress will not intervene. Trump has already demonstrated that his goal is to break every institution that could constrain him.
If this is to be the beginning of real resistance, it must be more than words, more than lawsuits, more than waiting for 2028. It must be the first step toward real state sovereignty, where Maine and other states build the legal, financial, and security infrastructure necessary to ensure that no federal threat—no funding cuts, no legal coercion, no federal edict—can bring them to heel.
The courts will be tied up for months, if not years, while Trump’s administration accelerates its campaign against every noncompliant state. Maine cannot afford to wait. It must act now, preparing for the day when federal institutions will not be the safeguard, but the enforcer of his rule.
This is the moment where defiance must become action. The resistance starts today.
The North will fight! Trans woman in Maine here: glad they picked a fight with us first, fucking dippy idiots.