Maine Rep. Laurel Libby is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in her fight to overturn her censure.
That comes just days after the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to grant Libby an expedited appeal of a U.S. District Court judge’s ruling that denied her request to immediately restore her floor and voting privileges.
The appeals court ruled that Libby hadn’t demonstrated a likelihood of success or the need for an expedited appeal, meaning her case will go through the regular process.
In a 31-page ruling earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Melissa Dubose of Rhode Island said that the Maine House acted within its rights when it disciplined her. Libby’s case was filed in U.S. District Court in Maine, but all of the state’s federal judges recused themselves and it was assigned to DuBose.
“For over 60 days, my constituents have had no say in actions taken by their government, actions that directly impact their lives,” Libby, R-Auburn, said in a statement. “Every vote taken on the floor of the legislature is a vote my constituents cannot get back. The good people of our district have been silenced and disenfranchised.”
The Maine House censured Libby in February for her social media posts targeting a transgender athlete who won a girls track-and-field title.
Libby’s posts thrust Maine into the crosshairs of President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold federal funding from the state over the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, saying that violates an executive order he signed in February.
Trump and Mills then crossed paths at an event at the White House. In a heated exchange, Trump pressed Mills on the state’s policy toward transgender athletes and the governor told the president that she would “see you in court.”
State law, specifically the Maine Human Rights Act, prohibits discrimination in education, employment, housing and more on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, ancestry or national origin.
Since then, Maine has been the target of an unprecedented pressure campaign. The Trump administration has launched numerous investigations into the state’s policies toward transgender people, rescinded funding for the Maine Sea Grant, school nutrition programs and state prison system, and temporarily halted two Social Security programs that allowed providers to electronically transmit birth and death data in Maine.
On April 16, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Justice Department was suing Maine over alleged Title IX violations, accusing the state of discriminating against and failing to protect women and girls.
In her lawsuit, Libby argues that Democratic House Speaker Ryan Fecteau has “effectively disenfranchised” her constituents and violated free speech and due process protections under the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
She is asking the Supreme Court to hear her case before the scheduled special session days next week, order an expedited response from the Maine attorney general’s office and uphold the Constitution’s protections against “viewpoint discrimination and suppression of dissent.”
“We are hopeful the Court will act swiftly to halt the Democrats’ ongoing violation of the Constitution and suppression of dissenting voices, even as our broader case continues through the appeals process,” Libby said.
