Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday she still reviewing how the slew of executive actions from President Trump will affect Maine.

Mills was more reserved than some of her Democratic colleagues after Trump quickly began following through on his campaign promises on immigration, energy and pardons for January 6th rioters. Immediately after Trump’s election, Mills also steered clear of joining a group organized by other Democratic governors to oppose Trump.

But Mills did take one subtle jab at the president on Tuesday based on his other campaign promises.

“We’re reviewing the series of executive orders issued by President Trump yesterday and today to understand what impacts there may be, if any, on the state of Maine,” Mills said. “Meanwhile, I am waiting for the president’s plan to bring down the cost of eggs and bread, heating and housing, and prescription drugs. We have yet to see that plan.”

Some of Trump’s executive actions could have significant impacts on Maine or Mills administration initiatives that depend on federal assistance.

Trump moved to temporarily halt offshore wind leases and permitting. Offshore wind is a key part of the Mills administration’s ambitious goals for moving Maine away from fossil fuels and toward an electric grid heavily supplied by renewable energy. For instance, the administration has been working with a consortium that includes researchers at the University of Maine to launch a floating wind turbine pilot project in federal waters in the Gulf of Maine. And last year, the Biden administration issued leases for several commercial offshore wind projects in the Gulf of Maine.

The president also reiterated his plan impose a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, which would likely spark retaliatory tariffs from those countries.

Canada is Maine’s largest trading partner, accounting for $1.4 billion or 48% of all exports from Maine in 2023, according to federal data. Mexico is the fourth-largest destination for Maine exports while China — another potential target of higher tariffs under Trump — is the state’s third-largest export market.

SEABROOK — New Hampshire has joined Maine in rejecting new regulations that would increase the minimum length of catchable lobster this summer.

Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte sent a letter to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) that oversees lobster caught by New Hampshire and Maine fishermen, stating New Hampshire would not comply with the guidelines set to go into effect July 1.

The new regulation requires an increase in the size of the gauge used by fishermen to measure lobster length, determining whether they can be caught or must be released. Lobstermen measure the size of a lobster by gauging its carapace (shell) from the eye socket to the tail.

Ayotte echoed a concern expressed by lawmakers in Seabrook, where lobstering is a local industry, that the rule could decrease lobstermen’s hauls by 30%. Her letter to the ASMFC follows similar action by Maine Department of Marine Resources Patrick Keliher, who said earlier this month Maine would not follow the regulations.

Previous story: NH and Maine lobstermen push back against new size rule amid economic fears

Ayotte called New Hampshire’s commercial fishing industry a “proud part of our heritage,” and said she has heard “loud and clear” from lobstermen and their supporters that the new regulations would damage the industry and the state.

“To ensure the survival of an iconic and historic industry in our state and our region, and to ensure our nation remains competitive in global trade, I ask you today to rescind these new guidelines,” Ayotte wrote. “In the meantime, New Hampshire will comply with the previous minimum size for lobster in an effort to preserve this proud industry.”

Since 2017, regulators have faced pressure to increase lobster gauge sizes following trawl surveys that indicated a decline in the population of small, sub-legal lobsters, according to Seafood Source.

The new regulation aims to address a 35% decrease in juvenile lobsters settling on the ocean floor, which is crucial for their maturation. ASMFC voting members, representing each Atlantic coast state, believe the change is necessary to help the lobster population recover. Cheri Patterson, chief of Marine Fisheries at New Hampshire Fish and Game, said earlier this month the rule was “backed by science.”

Lobstermen, however, have expressed concern that the regulations have no impact on Canadian fishermen who also catch lobster. Jim Titone, a Seabrook lobsterman since 1965, said the new change would also mean the end of fishing for the “chicken lobster” class, which refers to those that weigh 1 to 1.25 pounds.

Maine was set to adopt the gauge change for its lobstermen until a Jan. 9 hearing in Augusta drew significant backlash from members of the lobster industry. The following day, Keliher stated that they would not adopt the policy.

Lawmakers in New Hampshire who support the lobstermen then turned to Ayotte, as well as the incoming Trump administration, according to state Rep. Aboul Khan, who represents Seabrook, where many lobstermen dock their boats. He said he was glad Tuesday when Ayotte announced New Hampshire would not adopt the regulation.

“It would be good for the New Hampshire economy,” Khan said. “Thanks to Kelly Ayotte for understanding the men and women who work in this industry.”

Patterson could not be reached for comment.

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order commuting sentences for people convicted of Jan. 6 offenses Monday in the Oval Office of the White House. Evan Vucci/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, including people convicted of assaulting police officers, using his clemency powers on his first day back in office to undo the massive prosecution of the unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.

Trump’s action, just hours after his return to the White House on Monday, paves the way for the release from prison of people found guilty of violent attacks on police, as well as leaders of far-right extremist groups convicted of failed plots to keep the Republican in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.

The pardons are a culmination of Trump’s yearslong campaign to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack, which left more than 100 police officers injured as the angry mob of Trump supporters — some armed with poles, bats and bear spray — overwhelmed law enforcement, shattered windows and sent lawmakers and aides running into hiding. While pardons were expected, the speed and the scope of the clemency amounted to a stunning dismantling of the Justice Department’s effort to hold participants accountable over what has been described as one of the darkest days in the country’s history.

Trump also ordered the attorney general to seek the dismissal of roughly 450 cases that are pending before judges stemming from the largest investigation in Justice Department history.

Fifteen people with ties to Maine were charged for their alleged roles on Jan. 6. Most of them have already been sentenced, but several were still awaiting trials or sentencing hearings. Earlier this month, a federal judge denied the request of one Mainer, Christopher Belliveau, to attend Trump’s inauguration because the Sanford man was accused of spraying a canister of bear deterrent at a police officer.

Casting the rioters as “patriots” and “hostages,” Trump has claimed they were unfairly treated by the Justice Department, which also charged him with federal crimes in two cases he contends were politically motivated. Trump said the pardons will end “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years” and begin “a process of national reconciliation.”

The pardons were met with elation from Trump supporters and lawyers for the Jan. 6 defendants. Trump supporters gathered late Monday in the cold outside the Washington jail, where more than a dozen defendants were being held before the pardons.

“We are deeply thankful for President Trump for his actions today,” said James Lee Bright, an attorney who represented Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was serving an 18-year prison sentence after being convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes.

It’s unclear how quickly the defendants may be released from prison. An attorney for Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys national chairman who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, said he expected his client to be released from prison Monday night.

“This marks a pivotal moment in our client’s life, and it symbolizes a turning point for our nation,” attorney Nayib Hassan said in a statement. “We are optimistic for the future, as we now turn the page on this chapter, embracing new possibilities and opportunities.”

Democrats slammed the move to extend the pardons to violent rioters, many of whose crimes were captured on camera and broadcast on live TV. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution.”

“Donald Trump is ushering in a Golden Age for people that break the law and attempt to overthrow the government,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in an emailed statement.

Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack after a rioter shocked him with a stun gun, appeared taken aback to learn from an Associated Press reporter that those who assaulted police officers are among the pardon recipients.

“This is what the American people voted for,” he said. “How do you react to something like that?”

Fanone said he has spent the past four years worried about his safety and the well-being of his family. Pardoning his assailants only compounds his fears, he said.

“I think they’re cowards,” he said. “Their strength was in their numbers and the mob mentality. And as individuals, they are who they are.”

Trump had suggested in the weeks leading up to his return to the White House that instead of blanket pardons, he would look at the Jan. 6 defendants on a case-by-case basis. And Vice President JD Vance had said just days ago that people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot “obviously” should not be pardoned.

Fourteen defendants, including several convicted of seditious conspiracy, had their sentences commuted, while the rest of those found guilty of Jan. 6 crimes were granted “full, complete and unconditional” pardons.

The pardons come weeks after the Justice Department abandoned its two federal criminal cases against Trump, citing its policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Had Trump lost the 2024 election, he may have ultimately stood trial on charges in the same federal courthouse in Washington in the case that had accused him of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in a desperate bid to cling to power.

More than 1,200 people across the U.S. had been convicted of Jan. 6 crimes over the last four years, including roughly 200 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement.

Hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants who didn’t engage in any of the violence and destruction were charged with misdemeanor trespassing offenses, and many of those served little to no time behind bars.

But the violence that day has been documented extensively through videos, testimony and other evidence seen by judges and jurors in the courthouse that its within view of the Capitol.

Police were dragged into the crowd and beaten. Rioters used makeshift weapons to attack police, including flagpoles, a crutch and a hockey stick. Investigators documented a number of firearms in the crowd, along with knives, a pitchfork, a tomahawk ax, brass knuckle gloves and other weapons. Officers have described in testimony fearing for their lives as members of the mob hurled insults and obscenities at them.

Of the more than 1,500 people charged, about 250 people were convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial, while more than 1,000 others had pleaded guilty to offenses. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant.

More than 1,000 rioters had been sentenced, with over 700 receiving at least some time behind bars. The rest were given some combination of probation, community service, home detention or fines.

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