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Sen Tommy Tuberville calls Maine gov a 'total a--' for defying Trump on trans athletes
By Jackson Thompson
Published February 26, 2025
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., took aim at Maine Gov. Janet Mills for refusing to ban trans athletes in girls' sports on Wednesday.
During an interview on OutKick's "Don't @ Me With Dan Dakich," Tuberville laid heavy criticism on Mills after a week of national controversy for her feud with President Donald Trump over his "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order and her state's refusal to comply with it.
"With that governor of Maine just being a total a--, to be honest with you, to the president of the United States, when he's already said, ‘This is not going to happen,' and she said, ‘Well, I’ll take you to court,' and he said, ‘Well, I’ll see you in court, because I happen to run the federal government,'" Tuberville said.
"It just shows you how egotistical these people are, and it's just common sense that you don't do this."
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Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., attends the House and Senate committee markup of the National Defense Authorization Act on Nov. 29, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Maine came under national scrutiny for allowing trans athletes in girls' sports amid the state's refusal to comply with Trump's order and a recent incident involving a trans pole vaulter.
The spat between Trump and Mills started on Thursday when Trump vowed to cut funding to the state for refusing to follow his order during a gathering of governors in Washington.
On Friday, Mills' office responded with a statement threatening legal action against the Trump administration if it did withhold federal funding from the state. Then, Trump and Mills verbally sparred in a widely-publicized argument at the White House during a bipartisan meeting of governors.
"Are you not going to comply with that?" Trump asked Mills.
"I'm complying with state and federal laws," she responded, before Trump said, "Well, we are the federal law" and "You better do it, you better do it because you're not going to get any federal funding at all if you don't. And by the way, your population, even though it's somewhat liberal, although I did very well there, your population doesn't want men playing in women's sports, so you better comply because otherwise you're not getting any federal funding."
"We'll see you in court," Mills responded.
Just hours after that interaction, the U.S. Department of Education announced it will be investigating the state for allowing trans athletes to compete in girls' sports and potential Title IX violations. Maine is the fourth state to have a Title IX investigation launched against it for defying Trump's order since it was signed on Feb. 5.
California, Minnesota and Massachusetts are facing similar investigations, while several other Democratic-run states have also refused to comply with Trump's order thus far.
Meanwhile, Tuberville is also co-sponsoring a bill with similar ramifications to Trump's order in the U.S. Congress. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act has already passed in the House of Representatives, but has not received a Senate vote yet.
Tuberville hopes the country can address the issue of trans inclusion in time for the 2028 Olympics.
"What worries me is the Olympics are coming up here in our country in Los Angeles in a few years and we do not need this to turn this into a nightmare, it's got to be men vs. men, women vs. women," Tuberville said. "But you know what, this radical left is going to try and make this like it's a disaster that transitioned boys are not able to participate against women. It just makes no sense, and under this president, it's not going to happen."
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When Trump signed the executive order on Feb. 5, he vowed that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would prohibit any transgender athletes attempting to compete as women from entering the country for the Olympics in 2028.
Trump said he will instruct Noem "to deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes."
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https://www.foxnews.com/sports/sen-tommy-tuberville-calls-maine-gov-total-a-defying-trump-trans-athletes