AUGUSTA, Maine — A federal judge ruled Friday against the Republican lawmaker who was stripped of her voting privileges after sparking Maine’s battle with President Donald Trump over state transgender athlete policies.
It was the first decision made in the lawsuit filed last month by Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, who was censured in February by the Democratic-led House of Representatives over social media posts that named and pictured a transgender girl who won a state track and field title.
Since then, Libby has become one of the central figures in Trump’s fight with Gov. Janet Mills. The Republican president’s Justice Department sued the Democratic-led state this week, alleging that Maine’s policies allowing transgender girls to play sports according to their gender identity violates Title IX, the landmark 1972 law barring sex-based discrimination in schools.
Libby refused to apologize to her colleagues after the censure, leading House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, to invoke a House rule that stripped her of speaking and voting privileges. Libby sued Fecteau last month, saying he violated her constitutional rights and effectively disenfranchised her constituents by doing so.
Her lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Maine, but all of the judges recused themselves from the case because an employee of the court system here was directly affected by the case. It was put under the control of District Court judge Melissa DuBose of Rhode Island, who was appointed by former Democratic president Joe Biden.
DuBose’s 31-page ruling agreed with Attorney General Aaron Frey’s argument that lawmakers were immune from the lawsuit and the House was within its rights to discipline Libby, refusing her request to put the punishment on hold. The case fell short of an extraordinary circumstance that would violate Libby’s rights, the judge ruled.
“The censure and its sanction on [Rep.] Libby is … an internal Maine House affair,” DuBose wrote.
Both Libby and the free-speech Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which filed a brief supporting the Republican, criticized the decision in statements. Libby said she will appeal the decision and that the courts must stand against the Legislature’s “abuse of power.”
“My constituents deserve a voice, and they deserve leaders who won’t back down when it matters,” Libby said. “This fight is far from over.”
