A Maine state legislator who was barred from the House floor over a social media post about a transgender athlete in girls’ sports has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to get involved.
Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby filed an emergency application Monday asking the court to overturn lower court rulings upholding her Feb. 25 censure by the Democrat-controlled House.
Unlike in the U.S. House, where censure is largely ceremonial, Ms. Libby’s being censured forbids her from speaking or voting on the chamber floor.
“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,” Ms. Libby said in a statement.
“We are hopeful the Court will act swiftly to halt the Democrats’ ongoing violation of the Constitution and suppression of dissenting voices, even as the broader case continues through the appeals process,” she said.
The application was submitted to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who oversees emergency applications from the 1st U.S. Circuit, which includes Maine. She may rule on the matter herself or bring it before the full court.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston denied Friday the Republican’s motion for an expedited ruling on her lawsuit against House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, who oversaw the censure vote, which was spurred by the Republican’s Facebook post on a transgender athlete.
 BREAKING: Rep. Laurel Libby files an emergency petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to restore the voice of House District 90 — and defend constitutional rights. 
My constituents have been silenced for 60+ days. Now the fight moves to SCOTUS. 
Details  pic.twitter.com/tLIEsvEuUh
— Rep. Laurel Libby (@laurel_libby) April 28, 2025
In the Feb. 17 post, Ms. Libby showed side-by-side podium photos of a Greely High School athlete who placed fifth in the boys’ pole vault last year and first in girls’ pole vault this year at the state championships.
She used the student’s former and current first names, but not the last name.
Mr. Fecteau, a Democrat, accused Ms. Libby afterward of “using children to score political points.” The pole vaulter is a minor.
Ms. Libby would need to offer a public apology to regain her ability to speak and vote on the House floor, which she has refused to do.
In her lawsuit, Ms. Libby accused the House leader of violating her First Amendment rights and disenfranchising her constituents, but a lower-court judge refused to intervene, deferring to the House’s power to enforce its own disciplinary procedures.
The Maine state legislature went into special session in March, and no adjournment date has been set.
