All of Maine’s federal judges have recused themselves from a lawsuit from Rep. Laurel Libby that challenges her censure in the Legislature.
Judges John C. Nivison, John A Woodcock, Lance E. Walker, Karen F. Wolf, Stacey D. Neumann and Nancy Torresen signed recusal orders Tuesday, according to court records.
That has given rise to an “emergency,” as defined in federal law, requiring Libby’s case to be moved to the District of Rhode Island, Walker wrote in an order dated Wednesday. Walker sits on the federal bench in Bangor.
No reasoning was given for why the judges recused themselves.
In her lawsuit, Libby, R-Auburn, 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.
The Maine House censured Libby last month 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 has 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.
The Maine Principals’ Association, which runs high school sports, affirmed last month it will continue to allow trans athletes to compete in accordance with the Maine Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.
That continues the association’s longstanding policy of inclusion, which allowed trans athletes to play in sports consistent with their gender identity, unless there was a safety risk. Between 2013 and 2021, the association heard from 56 students wishing to participate during that time, only four of whom were trans girls.
Trump’s threat led to a heated exchange between him and Gov. Janet Mills at a White House event in Washington. Soon after the Trump administration launched several Title IX investigations into Maine, which concluded, after four days, that the state had violated federal law. Mills has blasted those investigations as having a “predetermined” conclusion, noting that no state officials were interviewed.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has threatened to sue Maine over any alleged Title IX violations.
Already, the Trump administration withheld funding from the Maine Sea Grant program, though the Commerce Department has said it will renegotiate the grant. Then the federal government abruptly ended a program allowing parents to register their newborns for Social Security numbers at Maine hospitals, but then quickly reversed that change.
On Tuesday, the same day Libby filed her lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would freeze its funding for the University of Maine System for allegedly violating federal law, affecting a range of programs that includes research into per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, contamination; support for 4-H youth leadership; potato breeding; education for farmers on preventing disease outbreaks; and more.
