Watch: Trump clashes with Maine's governor: "See you in court"

President Donald Trump had a testy exchange with Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills in a room full of governors at the White House Friday, again threatening to pull federal funding from the state for allowing transgender female athletes to compete in sports. 

Trump was speaking about an order he signed earlier this month on transgender athletes, which redefines Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s interpretation of "sex" as the gender someone was assigned at birth. 

He sought out Mills in the room after singling her out a day earlier in remarks to the Republican Governors Association.

RELATED: Trump signs executive order aiming to ban transgender athletes from women's sports

Why did Trump target Maine’s governor? 

The backstory:

The confrontation between Trump and Mills came after the two had traded barbs over his push to bar transgender athletes from playing in girls’ and women’s sports. 

The Maine Principals’ Association, which governs high school sports in the state, said earlier this month that it would continue to allow transgender female athletes to compete. The association's executive director, Mike Burnham, said it would follow the Maine Human Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on gender identity.

Friday morning, before clashing with Trump at the White House, Mills said the state "will not be intimidated" by Trump’s threats.

RELATED: Judge rules in favor of 3 transgender women who don't want to be placed in men's prisons

"If the president attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of Federal funding, my administration and the attorney general will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides," Mills said in a statement before the confrontation with Trump.

What did Trump and Maine’s governor say to each other? 

Here’s the exchange between Trump and Mills:

"Is Maine here, the governor of Maine?" he asked.

"I'm here," she replied.

"Are you not going to comply with it?" he asked.

US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Photographer: Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"I'm complying with state and federal laws," Mills replied.

Trump responded, "We are the federal law." He again threatened the state's federal funding and said Maine may be a Democratic state but its residents largely agree with him on this issue.

"We’re going to follow the law," she said.

"You'd better comply," Trump warned. "Otherwise, you're not getting any federal funding."

"We’ll see you in court," the governor replied.

"Good, I'll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one," Trump said. "And enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics."

What does Trump’s executive order on transgender athletes do?

Dig deeper:

The order Trump signed earlier this month gives federal agencies wide latitude to make sure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets "sex" as the gender someone was assigned at birth.

RELATED: Trump admin asks NCAA, high schools to erase records set by transgender athletes

The administration is also asking the NCAA and high schools to strip past titles and awards from transgender athletes. 

Why you should care:

The federal government could penalize organizations such as schools or athletic associations that do not comply, possibly by pulling funding such as grants to educational programs.