Maddow Blog | White House retaliation against Maine sparks calls for a key official’s resignation
Story by Steve Benen • 18h
A month into Donald Trump’s second term, the president hosted a White House event for the National Governors Association, which didn’t quite go as planned. The Republican picked a fight with Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, over transgender student-athletes, apparently hoping to bully her into submission.
It didn’t work. “See you in court,” the governor told him.
Ideally, at this point, the dispute would be handled responsibly through a legal process. But as The Washington Post reported, the Trump administration appears to have settled on a different kind of course.
In an email first obtained by The Washington Post, Leland Dudek, the acting Social Security Administration chief, wrote that Mills was “disrespectful” and “unprofessional” toward Trump. Dudek added that canceling the contracts would lead to an increase in the number of improper payments, but he directed officials to do it anyway.
“Please cancel the contracts. While our improper payments will go up, and fraudsters may compromise identities, no money will go from the public trust to a petulant child,” Dudek wrote, referring to Mills.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maddow-blog-white-house-retaliation-against-maine-sparks-calls-for-a-key-official-s-resignation/ar-AA1CeHi2?ocid=widgetonlockscreen&cvid=3ea5af8a8b96471ca6251d735359f4f3&ei=122
