Maine Governor denies threatening to stop federal taxes

Listen To Story Above

A recent controversy has erupted in Maine over a false claim regarding Governor Janet Mills’ stance on federal taxes. The dispute began when Melissa Moulton, a Maine resident, initiated a recall petition against Mills following a heated exchange between the governor and former President Donald Trump about transgender athletes. Local media outlet WGME reports the petition has garnered 16,000 signatures.

Social media platforms have been buzzing with claims that Mills threatened to withhold federal taxes from Maine residents’ paychecks. A viral post on Threads alleged Mills stated, “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.” This claim gained significant traction, particularly on X, where it amassed over three million views.

Residents in Maine gather to impeach Governor Janet Mills

“I am here today at this protest to impeach Mills to protect my daughters and women in sports. All over. Women fought for hundreds and hundreds of years to have equal rights and to be seen and to be heard. And I just… pic.twitter.com/v8Z44HXcOE

/div>

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 3, 2025

However, this assertion has been proven false. Mills has issued two official statements addressing her disagreement with Trump, neither of which mentioned stopping federal tax payments. In one statement, Mills declared, “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 governor’s social media accounts contain no record of such tax-related remarks, and Trump has not publicly addressed these claims. Multiple fact-checking organizations, including Snopes, USA Today, and Reuters, have thoroughly debunked the allegation.

Maine student athletes are rebelling against Gov. Janet Mills and siding with President Trump (and 80% of Americans) when it comes to policies that force girls to compete against males.

🎥 from @unquirer pic.twitter.com/IBZ3RMzdaJ

— Steve Robinson (@BigSteve207) February 27, 2025

Ben Goodman, Mills’ press secretary, explicitly refuted the claim in communication with USA Today, stating, “The statement is entirely false. Further, the action described in the false statement is illegal, per the Internal Revenue Code. The Governor respects the rule of law.”

The controversy stems from an ongoing dispute between Mills and Trump regarding transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ sports, where Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding from Maine after Mills indicated she might not comply with an executive order restricting transgender athletes’ participation.