WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s real-time confrontation with Maine’s governor over transgender athletes captured the conundrum many Democratic governors are going through within the Republican’s second time period.
Gov. Janet Mills’ vow that she would see Trump in court docket over his risk to withhold cash from the state if it did not comply along with his government order delighted Democrats who need extra strident pushback. However the dust-up that performed out within the open Friday as Trump hosted governors on the White Home ticked off a president recognized to retaliate in opposition to individuals he considers enemies.
Hours after the spat, the federal Division of Training introduced it was initiating an investigation into the Maine Division of Training over the inclusion of trans athletes. Trump does not need them enjoying in women and girls’s sports activities; Maine legislation bars discrimination primarily based on gender identification.
“Any time a public interplay like that takes place, it’s coming from an individual who’s grounded of their values,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer mentioned in an interview Sunday. “I like Janet Mills and I admire her for standing up. I additionally know that there’s at all times a price that comes with that.”
The Democrats who lead the nation’s most populous states had been in Washington for a gathering of the Nationwide Governors Affiliation, the place they tried to strike a stability between their states’ wants and their emotions about Trump.
Whitmer, recognized for clashing with Trump throughout his first time period over the federal COVID-19 response, campaigned vigorously in opposition to him in 2024 on behalf of Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. Whitmer mentioned she sat subsequent to Trump at a White Home dinner on Saturday night time.
“I used to be the one Democrat on the desk. I used to be a little bit stunned. I believe everybody within the room was a little bit stunned, to be trustworthy,” she mentioned. “However I took the chance to speak a little bit bit about tariffs.”
Michigan and different states might be considerably affected by a number of the president’s early proposals. For instance, Michigan expects practically 42% of its funds to return from federal funds and depends closely on commerce with Canada, which now faces potential Trump-imposed commerce penalties.
A federal choose is contemplating a request to dam the administration from freezing trillions of {dollars} in grants and loans, a transfer that would severely influence states. On the identical time, Trump’s key ally, Elon Musk, is pushing to shrink the federal authorities, with seemingly ripples nationwide. About 80% of the roughly 2 million individuals within the federal workforce stay outdoors metro Washington, dispersed throughout the nation.
“I’m very anxious that persons are going to make make choices with out a actual understanding of what the ramifications are going to be for the American public,” Whitmer mentioned. Musk, she mentioned, is “harmful.”
At dialogue panels and information conferences on the conferences, state leaders struck a conciliatory tone.
“We at all times hope that folks can disagree in a manner that elevates the discourse and tries to return to a typical resolution,” mentioned Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, the affiliation’s chair, when requested in regards to the Trump-Mills change. “I don’t assume that disagreement was essentially a mannequin of that,” he mentioned.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., met with Trump for greater than an hour on Friday afternoon to debate Manhattan’s congestion tolling. Trump ordered a halt to this system, a key Hochul precedence, and declared in a social media publish: “Lengthy stay the king!”
Requested in regards to the assembly, Hochul advised CBS’ “Face the Nation” that it was “adversarial” and mentioned New Yorkers “must know I’m prepared to take the battle wherever I’ve to.”
“We’re not going to take a seat idly by and let our rights be attacked,” she mentioned. “We’ll work with you when there’s frequent floor, little doubt about it, let’s construct nice tasks and infrastructure. There’s areas the place we’re going to work with you on immigration and getting the violent criminals off our streets. We don’t dispute that, however don’t assume that you could simply are available in and bully us round and never count on a response from governors.”
Whitmer mentioned she had an opportunity to talk with Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem, along with Trump.
“I’ve received to place the individuals’s pursuits earlier than my very own pursuits, earlier than my partisan curiosity. I received a job to do,” mentioned Whitmer, thought-about a top-tier potential candidate for the 2028 Democratic nomination for president. “So even when it’s uncomfortable, even when, you understand, it’s all of the all of the stuff you would assume, on a private stage, that’s second to my job as governor.”
Tons of of miles from Washington, one other 2028 contender took a unique course.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, in his State of the State tackle on Wednesday, in contrast the Trump administration to the Nazi motion and criticized members of his personal social gathering, declaring, “Going alongside to get alongside doesn’t work.”
Pritzker’s response resonated with some key voters.
“We didn’t elect Democrats to develop into collaborators with our oppressors,” mentioned Lori Goldman, founding father of “Fems for Dems,” a Michigan-based group targeted on voter turnout.
“We’re past offended and we’re organizing in opposition to Democrats that promote us out,” she mentioned.
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