When Gov. Janet Mills met with a reporter last November for a rare sit-down interview, she declined to rule out the notion she might run for the U.S. Senate in 2026. At the time, it raised only a ripple.

It’s no secret that the two-term governor, now 77, has had many disagreements with younger Democrats, including legislative leaders. She seems out of step with the party’s consensus on issues ranging from tribal rights to criminal justice reform, budget and tax policy and numerous others.

But Mills changes her mind rarely, and she has prevailed most of the time. Maine has granted its governor broad authority, and a term-limited citizen Legislature has little ability to change the imbalance.

Besides, up to a decade ago, we rarely even thought of 70-plus candidates as eligible for high office. Then it all changed. Both of the last two presidents were elected to new terms at age 78. Sen. Bernie Sanders ran for reelection in Vermont at 84, and no one blinked. Closer to hand, Sen. Angus King, who had privately committed to two terms when he first ran in 2012, has just been reelected to a third term at age 80.

The latest shift occurred last Friday, when the National Governors Association was hosted by President Donald Trump for another campaign speech disguised as presidential remarks. For more than an hour, Trump described his own greatness, including “record” polling numbers.

Then he turned to transgender athletes, and asked whether Maine’s governor was in the room. She was. When he taxed her with his executive order on the subject, she replied, “I’m complying with state and federal laws.”

Characteristically, Trump said, “We are the federal law,” as if one person could somehow represent not only the Executive Branch, with its 2.4 million employees, but the entire Judicial Branch, too. “You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funds,” Trump concluded, to which Mills said, “See you in court.”

A timeout is needed here, because the facts are easily obscured by Trump’s bravado and Mills’ steely response.

First, an executive order does not have the force of law, and does not alter existing federal anti-discrimination law, which is extensive. How this might fit with the relatively new legal concepts of transgenderism is far from clear. Presidents cannot abrogate the law, nor can they withhold federal funding without cause.

With that said, high school and college athletics, where anti-discrimination law specifically provides for separate women’s teams, is not a good match for some of the policies Maine and other states have adopted; Trump does have a point.

Regardless, a president’s order doesn’t override state laws, nor in this case rules promulgated by the Maine Principals’ Association. That’s for the courts to sort out, and several have already acted to put portions of the executive order on hold.

What’s significant is that this is the first time any governor has publicly stood up to the president and held her ground. Suddenly, there’s a lot more interest in having Mills challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins for what would be Collins’ sixth term; no other Mainer has served more than four.

Politically, Collins has led a charmed life since she was first elected in 1996, then just 45. Maine Democrats, who have not elected a U.S. senator since George Mitchell in 1988, have fallen short time after time.

With Mills it could be different. She has as high a political profile as Collins, and can match her appeal to voters, too. After a lackluster bid for Congress in 1994, Mills steadily worked her way through the Legislature and four terms as attorney general before launching her gubernatorial campaign in 2018. She then became the first governor since Ken Curtis to win a majority in two consecutive elections.

As AG, she had memorable confrontations with then-Gov. Paul LePage. When LePage unsuccessfully challenged her in 2022, during an October debate she said, “I’ve spent the better part of my career listening to loud men talk tough to disguise their weaknesses.”

She was prepared for Trump.

No one, perhaps even Mills, knows whether she will end up challenging Collins, but she doesn’t lack incentive. Seeking as ever to have the last word, Trump ended their encounter with, “Enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”

We’ll know soon enough whether Mills will pick up the gauntlet.