Rep. Laurel Libby Censured By Maine Legislature For Post About Male Athlete Who Won Girls' Competition
The Maine House of Representatives voted to censure Rep. Laurel Libby on Tuesday for posting a viral image on social media that showed a trans-identifying male athlete taking first place in a girls’ track and field event.
"She has irreparably broken the trust that has been placed in her as an elected official serving in this House of Representatives," House Majority Leader Matt Moonen said on the House floor. "This institution and all of Maine deserve better."
The censure resolution passed on a 75-70 vote. Libby is now no longer allowed to speak on the House floor or to vote until she issues an apology — which she doesn't plan to do.
"I will not apologize for speaking up for Maine girls who are having their voices silenced," Libby said.
Libby's post centered on a male athlete who won a Maine state title in girls' pole-vaulting last week, defeating the closest competitor by more than 6 inches. The athlete had competed as a boy just a year earlier.
Libby pointed out that the student-athlete's identity and photo were already public information before she made the social media post.
"It's a remarkable double standard as there are public photos of this individual in many places, on social media and even some posted by his school," Libby said. "So yes, this post went viral, but this was an individual who participated in a public event, who publicly stood on a podium and accepted a championship medal that rightfully belonged to the girls standing on the second-place spot."
Rep. Laurel Libby Pushes Back Against Maine Democrats
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep males out of girls' and women's sports — promising to remove federal funding from schools and programs that don't comply.
The Maine Principals' Association (MPA), the organization that governs school sports in the state, later came forward to say it would allow male athletes to continue competing in girls' and women’s sports, in direct defiance of the President's order.
Maine Governor Janet Mills backed the MPA's decision, telling Trump, "We'll see you in court."
Libby told Fox News Digital that she believes her Republican colleagues have her back as she fights the censure and that the Democrats' anti-common sense stance will ultimately backfire on them.
"I think this was a tremendous misstep on the part of the Democrats, and they are completely misjudging this issue, and they do not understand how vigorously Maine people disagree with them on this policy, and they will at some point regret this action from tonight," Libby said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi issued letters to officials in Maine, along with California and Minnesota, on Tuesday, warning them that the Department of Justice "will leverage every legal option necessary to ensure state compliance with federal law and President Trump’s Executive Order protecting women’s sports."