Maine is putting it all on the line in the name of “transgender rights.” The state has gone so far as to risk federal funding for education and to strip some Maine residents of representation in the state capital. 

The ongoing dispute between the state and the federal government over Title IX violations is set to cost Maine $250 million in federal funding if relevant state institutions do not comply with federal law by agreeing to limit women’s sports to biological women only. It appears the state won’t budge.

Meanwhile, more than 9,000 residents have lost their representation in Augusta through the censure of a state representative who spoke out on social media against Title IX violation. State Rep. Laurel Libby, a Republican, was censured by her colleagues in February for posting the photo of an underage male athlete who won a girls state pole vault championship.  

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The censure sparked a spat between Democrat Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump.  

Trump issued his executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” in January, mandating that federal Title IX law must be interpreted according to biological sex rather than the sex with which someone chooses to identify. Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding. The law aided in the creation of female-only sports programs in grade schools and colleges. 

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education each set a 10-day window for educational institutions in Maine to comply with federal Title IX law. With the first deadline on Thursday, Maine leadership has remained silent about its intended response.

Educational institutions in Maine received $250 million in federal funding last year, according to the Maine Department of Education. That money, which goes toward school lunches, special education programs, and state assessments, is on the line if Maine does not comply with federal guidance. 

Maine’s attorney general told Politico he is reviewing proposed federal agreements, but Mills has vowed to take legal action to restore any educational funding stripped by the Trump administration.

“My administration will begin work with the attorney general to defend the interests of Maine people in the court of law,” Mills said Feb. 21 in response to the U.S. Department of Education investigation into the Maine Department of Education’s Title IX compliance. “But do not be misled: This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot.”  

Meanwhile, Libby said she believes she was silenced for standing up for Maine girls. 

“The response on the ground level is displeasure with the governor and the Democrat majority who are pushing this woke agenda and discriminating against Maine girls,” Libby told The Daily Signal. “By and large, Mainers do not support this policy of allowing biological males in girls sports. So, to see our supposed leadership going to bat to push for this agenda is a betrayal of Maine people.” 

Libby has said she will not apologize for her Facebook post and is pursuing legal action against those who silenced her. Due to her censure, Libby was not able to vote on the contested $11.3 billion state budget, which was signed into law March 21.  

“Effectively, I did not have a say,” former Mayor of Auburn Jason Levesque, a constituent of Libby’s, told The Daily Signal. “I did not have a vote along with [9,000] others in the passing of this budget.” 

Another constituent, Ronald Lebel, said the censure is a violation of Libby’s and her constituents’ constitutional rights. A retired trial lawyer, Lebel said he has been a registered Democrat since he was old enough to vote.

“When I became a Democrat, our party stood for free speech. I came of age during the Vietnam War and I was very active protesting the war … we knew our First Amendment rights would protect us, and they did,” Lebel said. “I see this censure on Rep. Libby in the same context and through the same lens. She merely spoke her mind on an issue of public interest. The basis on which the censure was issued, that it was some sort of an invasion of privacy of a young person, just doesn’t pass the straight-face test.”

House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat, said in a public statement that Libby violated the Maine legislative code of ethics by posting the photo of a minor.

Six of Libby’s constituents, including Lebel and Levesque, have signed on to a lawsuit with Libby against Fecteau and House Clerk Robert Hunt for denying them their representation in Maine’s House of Representatives. 

Mills says she is upholding the Maine Human Rights Act, which includes “gender identity” as a protected class.

According to Lebel and Levesque, Maine’s government is out of step with the views of the people on this issue. Additionally, a national poll from The New York Times found almost 80% of Americans—including 67% of Democrats—do not support males participating in women’s sports.   

Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who represents Maine in Congress, told The Daily Signal that while she does not support cutting federal funding to her home state, she will not back Mills on “transgender” males in female sports under Title IX.  

“It is critically important to treat people who are transgender with respect and dignity,” Collins told The Daily Signal. “But that does not change the fact that Title IX, which was passed in 1972, has greatly expanded opportunities for girls and young women to participate in organized sports … by mandating equal access to athletic resources and facilities on the basis of sex—not on the basis of gender identity.” 

Whether she is authentically concerned with protecting transgender athletes or not, Mills seems determined to use the issue to oppose the Trump administration, despite costs to taxpayers and families in her state.