Supreme Court Orders Maine House to Restore Vote of Lawmaker Censured over Post Criticizing Trans Athlete

The Supreme Court ordered the Maine House of Representatives on Tuesday to restore the vote of a Republican lawmaker who was censured after she wrote an online post defending fairness in women’s sports and criticizing the intrusion of a trans-identifying male athlete into female competition.

Maine Representative Laurel Libby filed the emergency appeal to the Supreme Court while a lawsuit over the social media post plays out. In the post written earlier this year, Libby criticized a male high school athlete who won a girls’ track meet, and included in the post the male student’s name.

The Democrat-controlled Maine House decided that Libby’s post violated ethics in identifying the student, and when she chose not to apologize, Libby was subsequently banned from speaking and voting on the House floor.

Supreme Court justices sided with Libby 7-2 with Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting.

“The U.S. Supreme Court just restored the voice of 9,000 Mainers!” Libby said on X. “After 2+ months of being silenced for speaking up for Maine girls, I can once again vote on behalf of the people of House District 90. This is a win for free speech — and for the Constitution.”

Libby’s viral post set the scene for a contentious debate about gender in Maine.

In March, Maine’s governor Janet Mills (D) announced that Maine refused to comply with an executive order President Donald Trump enacted early on in his presidency, which bans men from participating in women’s sports. Trump’s Justice Department is now suing the state for violating Title IX, the federal law that offers protections to individuals based on biological sex.

Mills told Trump at a National Governor’s Association event in February that she would see him “in court” to which Trump responded, “You better comply, you better comply, because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi hosted a press conference to express the department’s support for Libby. Justice Department officials also filed an amicus brief to bolster Libby’s case.

“The Department of Justice is proud to fight for girls in Maine and stand alongside Rep. Libby, who is being attacked simply for defending girls in her home state,” Bondi told Fox News. “As our lawsuit against the state of Maine illustrates, we will always protect girls’ sports and girls’ spaces from radical gender ideology.”