| schema:text
| - Mills did make statements addressing Trump's threat to cease federal funding, but there was no mention of anything related to federal taxes.
A rumor circulating on the internet in late February 2025 alleged Maine Gov. Janet Mills declared the state's residents would not have to pay federal taxes if U.S. President Donald Trump ceased federal funding to the state due to Maine's noncompliance with an executive order attempting to ban transgender women from women's sports.
The claim spread on social media following a heated exchange between Mills and Trump during a meeting of governors at the White House on Feb. 21, 2025. The rumor purported that Mills said, "If Donald Trump stops federal funding to Maine, we the people of Maine will take out federal taxes from all paychecks and no taxes will be paid to the federal government."
The alleged quote — coupled with an image of Trump and Mills — circulated widely on social media, including numerous posts on X (archived), Threads (archived) and Instagram (archived).
However, official statements released by Mills' office on Feb. 21 do not include any mention of withholding federal taxes, and Google searches do not return any reputable news outlets reporting that Mills said the quote. We thus rate this claim misattributed, meaning that Mills did not speak or write those words.
Mills' first statement addressed Trump's threat to withhold education funding from the state of Maine and said:
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. The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President's threats.
The next statement addressed the news that the U.S. Department of Education would be investigating the state related to alleged Title IX violations.
The full statement read:
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.
Title IX is part of the Civil Rights Act that went into effect in 1972, stating: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
Following Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order in January 2025, the Trump administration is using Title IX to threaten school districts that allow transgender athletes to compete under their gender identity.
The focus on Maine began when the executive director of the Maine Principals' Association reaffirmed the organization's commitment to the state's transgender athletes following Trump's executive order. Section 12 of the MPA handbook states, in part:
A student who wishes to participate in MPA sponsored interscholastic athletics must declare their gender identity to their member school if their gender identity differs from the student's sex assigned at birth. The member school shall have the sole authority to verify the student's gender identity assignment for the purposes of athletic registration and participation in MPA sponsored events. No medical records or official documents shall be requested or required to establish a student's gender identity.
On Feb. 17, Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby brought Maine into the national spotlight with a social media post on Facebook (archived) that targeted a transgender athlete at a Maine high school. The Maine House censured Libby, who refused to apologize or remove the post.
At a meeting with state governors on Feb. 21, Trump singled out Mills to ask whether Maine would comply with the executive order. The exchange is available to watch on YouTube; a report of the exchange by The Associated Press reads:
"Is Maine here, the governor of Maine?" [Trump] asked.
"I'm here," [Mills] replied.
"Are you not going to comply with it?" he asked.
"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."
Mills' office released the statements above — which have no mention of withholding federal taxes — following this exchange.
Snopes reached out to Mills' office via telephone and email for comment and will update this article if we receive a response.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)