The Maine House Democrats endeavored to move forward with what will be a nearly $12 billion biennial spending program on Thursday—a controversial measure that the majority party is looking to pass, once again, on a majority basis with zero input from Republican lawmakers.

But the debate over the record-setting budget devolved when it came time for Republican amendments to be consider, thanks in part to the House Democrats’ earlier decision to censure Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) for a social media post they didn’t like.

The censure, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) has claimed, meant that Libby would not be allowed to vote or speak on the House floor. At least, that was his position prior to Thursday. Yet when it came time for Libby’s ten amendments to the budget to be considered, Libby was allowed to speak on the floor of the House.

Although Democrats refused to allow her to speak to her motion — that is, to defend a given amendment — the process restarted a debate over the procedural and constitutional questions involved.

The events of Thursday may also impact Libby’s pending federal lawsuit against Speaker Fecteau and the Clerk of the House because of the appearance of selective enforcement of the terms of her censure.

In the end, Democrats predictably rejected all ten of Libby’s amendments, which offered various fiscally conservative reforms, including a measure to stop Maine from forcing female athletes to compete against male athletes, as well as spending reductions, and the spending bill moved forward, as predicted.

The legislative drama is deep inside baseball for most voters and taxpayers, of interest only to those who work in the State House or depend on state government for their livelihoods. That the vast spending package would move through Augusta, packed with spending on pet projects and progressive programs, was largely a foregone conclusion after the Nov. 2024 elections, which gave Democrats majorities in both the House and Senate, though by only a few hundred votes.

However, the non-fiscal issue underlying the broader debate around Libby, transgenderism, and high school sports remains unresolved.

The state of Maine, following multiple investigations into the Maine Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services, has been found in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.

In letters delivered last week and this week, the Trump administration gave both departments a 10-day ultimatum to either comply with Title IX of risk a prosecution by the U.S. Justice Department.

“If Maine does not swiftly and completely come into compliance with Title IX, we will initiate the process to limit MDOE’s access to federal funding,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the federal Department of Education, said in a statement.