LEWISTON — When Hannah Pingree was chosen to lead the state’s new Office of Policy Innovation and the Future in 2019, Gov. Janet Mills’ administration was in a similar position as it is now.

The federal government, under President Donald Trump, was slashing programs and working against policies to address climate change — something that has resumed after four years under the Biden administration. But Pingree said the governor’s attitude was reflected in the Maine Climate Council’s first report, titled “Maine Won’t Wait.”

“(Mills) said we would act whether or not the federal government was with us,” Pingree said.

During a Great Falls Forum discussion Thursday, Pingree said she’s hopeful that Maine can continue to implement and fund its goals around climate resilience, carbon emissions, clean energy and energy efficiency.

Questions from the audience focused on the potential budgetary impacts on Maine’s work from the federal government, which is attempting to slash spending on much of what Pingree’s office has been working on.

“We’re doing everything we can at the state to continue our leadership with or without the Trump administration,” she said.

Pingree, the daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, said a lot of Biden’s climate policy is still in effect and will remain unless Congress votes otherwise. She said despite extreme cuts proposed in the administration’s budget, she’s hopeful that Maine’s congressional delegation can be united on the issue, and that some cuts can be fought in court.

Pingree’s talk came just a few hours before the governor’s office announced that Pingree would be stepping down from the role. Often mentioned as a potential candidate for governor, Pingree said she is “exploring” her options.

Pingree was appointed as director of Mills’ Office of Policy Innovation and the Future in 2019 after serving on Mills’ transition team.

Pingree said the idea was to focus on the long-term challenges that face Maine: climate resilience, infrastructure, housing, food insecurity, workforce, energy and more.

“When she was out campaigning she started talking about this idea of the future,” she said.

When announcing the new department in 2019, Mills said she was following the advice of writer Kurt Vonnegut, who said, “Every government ought to have a Department of the Future.”

Pingree was also appointed by Gov. Mills in 2019 to co-chair the Maine Climate Council, which leads climate planning for the state.

Prior to joining the Mills administration, Pingree served four terms in the Maine Legislature from 2003 to 2010, and served as speaker of the House of Representatives and House majority leader.

Pingree said Thursday that much of her office’s work has focused on policies that can save Mainers money. She said the proposed federal budget would slash energy tax credits that help schools and businesses invest in energy efficiency.

She said her office has been trying to “appeal to the common-sense nature of energy efficiency,” where instead of buying expensive fossil fuels from other countries, the state “could be generating it here in a way that creates jobs.”

She also detailed the ways in which her office has focused on responding and planning for more extreme whether events, which in Maine has meant significant floods.

Pingree also made it clear that one of the state’s largest priorities remains housing, which impacts its workforce needs and overall economy. As the oldest state in the nation, Maine has seen more young people staying or moving to the state, but housing remains an obstacle.

“People want to live in Maine. It’s a state worth investing in,” she said.

She complimented Lewiston and its officials for its recent efforts to boost housing.

Pingree told the audience that while there are “a lot of challenges in our politics,” there is often more bipartisan support for the state’s pressing issues than most people realize.