Maine gov on DOJ lawsuit over transgender athletes: This is about 'states rights,' 'defending the rule of law'

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) commented Wednesday on the Justice Department’s (DOJ) announcement of a lawsuit targeting her state over transgender athletes, calling it part of “an unprecedented campaign to pressure the State of Maine to ignore the Constitution and abandon the rule of law.”

"This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls, as has been claimed, it is about states' rights and defending the rule of law against a federal government bent on imposing its will, instead of upholding the law," Mills said in a statement on the Maine government's website.

The Trump administration announced a civil lawsuit Wednesday targeting the Pine Tree State's Department of Education for violating Title IX, the federal law against sex discrimination that the Trump administration has said bars transgender students from taking part in girls' and women's sports in schools.

“We have exhausted every other remedy,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday. “We don’t like standing up here and filing lawsuits.”

Maine has recently become a battleground in the national debate over transgender rights, with Mills and President Trump going head-to-head in February at a National Governors Association session at the White House on transgender people in sports.

"For decades -- first as a District Attorney, as Attorney General, and now as Governor -- I have fought tirelessly for the rights of women and girls, for the health and well-being of children and families, and defending the Constitution of Maine and the Constitution of the United States,” Mills said in her statement Wednesday. “My Administration and Maine's Attorney General will vigorously defend our state against the action announced today from the Department of Justice."

"As I have said previously, 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,” she added.

The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.