Supreme Court sides with Maine lawmaker in censure fight

Supreme Court sides with Maine lawmaker in censure fight

(The Center Square) — A Maine GOP lawmaker has her legislative voting rights restored after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked her censure by the Democratic-controlled state Legislature for identifying a transgender teen athlete in a viral social-media post. In a 7-2rulingTuesday, the high court's conservative majority granted state Rep. Laurel Libby's request for a preliminary injunction blocking the Maine House of Representatives' censure vote. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. The majority's decision, which wasn't explained, lifts restrictions that prevented the Auburn Republican from voting on bills or speaking on legislative matters while the legal challenge plays out in court. "This is a victory not just for my constituents, but for the Constitution itself," Libby said in a statement. "The Supreme Court has affirmed what should never have been in question — that no state legislature has the power to silence an elected official simply for speaking truthfully about issues that matter." Libby was censured in February by the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives after posting a picture on social media that identified a minor transgender student-athlete. A lawsuit in March by Libby and several of her constituents sought to overturn the censure vote brought by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, but the legal challenge was rejected by a federal judge who said the court lacks jurisdiction to meddle in the "internal" policies of the Maine Legislature. Libby appealed the ruling, but the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling Friday denying her request. The appellate panel said Libby's lawyers failed to show the lawsuit was likely to succeed and that she — or her constituents — would be irreparably harmed if the legislative censure remains in place. But Libby petitioned the Supreme Court to take up her case. The lawmakers' legal fight is backed by West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey and 14 other Republican attorneys general whoaskedthe high court to grant Libby's request for a preliminary injunction. In her dissenting opinion, Justice Jackson questioned whether the emergency relief was necessary given "that there are no significant legislative votes" scheduled in the coming weeks and suggested that her district would not suffer any "concrete, imminent, and significant harm" while the lower court considers her appeal. However, Libby said the court majority's ruling in her favor "restores the voice of 9,000 Mainers who were wrongly silenced." "I am grateful for the court's action, and I am ready to get back to work representing the people of House District 90," she said.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 20, 2025

Supreme Court sides with Maine lawmaker in censure fight

Supreme Court sides with Maine lawmaker in censure fight (The Center Square) — A Maine GOP lawmaker has her legislative voting rights restor...

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WATCH: Ferguson signs contentious parents’ bill of rights rewrite into law

WATCH: Ferguson signs contentious parents' bill of rights rewrite into law

(The Center Square) – One of the most hotly debated bills of this year's legislative session was signed into law on Tuesday by Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson. House Bill 1296modifies Initiative 2081, the Parents' Bill of Rights, passed by the Legislature last year. I-2081 provides parents with specific rights related to their children's public school education. These rights include reviewing instructional materials, inspecting records, receiving notifications, and opting out of certain activities, like sexual health education. HB 1296 removes certain parental rights related to accessing medical records, including mental health counseling, and modifies timelines for notifying parents of criminal actions involving students. "There's a lot of controversy around this policy, but you can see by the people who are standing here that the young people in our schools deserve a place where they can be seen and acknowledged in their full selves and experience a full curriculum," said Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, the prime sponsor of HB 1296. "To be able to experience a school system that is without discrimination is a top-notch priority for the teachers in this state, myself being one." Opponents contend HB 1296 guts key provisions of I-2081 and ignores voters' intent. They argue that lessening parents' right to know what is happening with their children will further undermine trust in Washington's public school system, where enrollment declines post-pandemic have not improved in most districts. "It's incredibly disappointing as once again Washington Democrats are trying to undo the will of the people here," said Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, in a Tuesday interview with The Center Square just after the bill signing. "I mean, almost a half a million people signed on to this initiative [2081], and it was nearly unanimously passed by the Legislature. And here they are yet again, undoing it. They're not amending parents' rights. They're assassinating them. The bill opens the door to hidden mental health services and gender transitions and other life-altering interventions, all without parents' consent. And that's not protection, that's predation." The political action committee behind I-2081, Let's Go Washington, has already filed an initiative with the Office of the Secretary of State that, if passed, would restore the parental rights guaranteed by I-2081. "Ferguson claiming to be a moderate, and leading from the middle, and then signing such a clearly harmful piece of legislation for parents and families is disheartening," Let's Go Washington's Hallie Balch told The Center Square post-bill signing. "To have all those legislators say yes, we support this, and then immediately turn around and make it 10 times more dangerous for kids is just offensive." Balch couldn't say exactly when Let's Go Washington's signature-gathering campaign would begin, but given lawmakers' attachment of an emergency clause to HB 1296 – meaning it takes effect immediately and is referendum-proof – the initiative process is the only way to reverse the law. "We're going to do everything we can to repeal 1296, and we have the infrastructure in place and people are super motivated," Balch said. "We are not concerned about gathering enough signatures or getting the measure approved because we know we can do it." Couture said his constituents have been asking about the new initiative. "I think it'll be a flood of folks anxious to sign," he said. "Let's make no mistake, I mean, this is a culture war; 1296 is the state's weapon against parents and their rights. It's totally wrong." Anti-tax activist, frequent Ferguson foe and HB 1296 critic Tim Eyman showed up at the bill signing and stood directly behind the governor, who could be heard on his microphone asking, "Are you really going…?" Eyman responded, "I'm just here in respectful opposition." There were no fireworks, and Ferguson's staff even obliged Eyman with a souvenir bill-signing pen to take away as a keepsake.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 20, 2025

WATCH: Ferguson signs contentious parents’ bill of rights rewrite into law

WATCH: Ferguson signs contentious parents' bill of rights rewrite into law (The Center Square) – One of the most hotly debated bills of ...

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Senate to vote to overturn California gas car ban, overriding parliamentarian

Senate to vote to overturn California gas car ban, overriding parliamentarian

(The Center Square) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced he is holding a vote to overturn California's 2035 ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars, which has been adopted by 11 other states and the District of Columbia, making up 40% of the American market. The vote would alsoimpactother California emissions rules approved in the last days of the Biden administration, including the state's diesel-engine and zero-emission heavy-duty-vehicle requirements. The phased-in zero-emission vehicle requirement applies to Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington for the ongoing model year 2026, and Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. for model year 2027. Last month, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the Biden administration's EPA waiver that allowed California to enact this regulation is not subject to congressional review, the power by which Congress has 60 legislative days to overturn regulatory actions by executive agencies such as the EPA. Because California's air emissions regulations predate the EPA — the state sought to regulate air pollution causing its once-infamous smog — it alone is allowed to create its own air regulations more stringent than the federal standard, so long as it receives an EPA waiver for each rule. States seeking more stringent air regulations than the federal standard have done so by adopting California's rules, making California's emissions regulations a matter of national concern. In California, zerio-emission vehicle market share would have to grow to 35% for the ongoing 2026 model year. With ZEV market share in California — which has the highest ZEV adoption rates in the country — having declined from 22% in 2024 to 20.8% in the first quarter of 2025, Toyota has said the target is "impossible" to meet, as ZEV sales would have to increase 68% practically overnight. Automakers can buy and trade credits from other automakers to meet the rising targets, or face fines of $10,000 per credit they are short, resulting in automakers pulling some cars from markets impacted by the new requirements. California Gov. Gavin Newsom positioned the vote as a matter of health and maintaining dominance in the geopolitical confrontation with China. "The United States Senate has a choice: cede American car-industry dominance to China and clog the lungs of our children, or follow decades of precedent and uphold the clean air policies that Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon fought so hard for," said Newsom in a statement. "Will you side with China or America?" The Specialty Equipment Market Association, which represents the automotive aftermarket industry, says overturning the gas car ban would protect jobs and small businesses and grow the real economy. "The automotive aftermarket industry will be deeply impacted by EV mandates and internal combustion engine bans," said SEMA in a statement. "This is an industry made up of small businesses, 33% of which are ICE-vehicle dependent; the death of California's waiver will give life to more than 330,000 American jobs and preserves over $100 billion of economic impact to the nation's economy." General Motors, the nation's largest American automaker, has supported California vehicle regulations in the past, but has since come out in support of its reversal as EV sales have struggled. "GM believes in customer choice, and we continue to focus on offering the best and broadest portfolio of vehicles on the market," said GM in a statement. "GM has long supported one national standard and consistency in emissions regulations that are aligned with market realities."

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 20, 2025

Senate to vote to overturn California gas car ban, overriding parliamentarian

Senate to vote to overturn California gas car ban, overriding parliamentarian (The Center Square) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune a...

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Lawyers battle over Trump admin deporting immigrants to war-torn South Sudan

Lawyers battle over Trump admin deporting immigrants to war-torn South Sudan

For thesecond time in less than two weeks, immigration lawyers have gone to federal court to try and stop the Trump administration from deporting a small group of immigrants from the United States to a war-torn country not their own. Immigration attorneys told the court that at least two of their clients, from Myanmar and Vietnam, were deported Tuesday morning to South Sudan in violation of a court order, and they demanded their return. "The Court should further restrain all flights carrying class members to South Sudan or any other third country," the attorneys said. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and NBC News was not able to independently verify that a deportation flight to South Sudan had occurred. AState Department travel advisorywarns Americans not to go to South Sudan "due to crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict" and notes that in March, because of the situation there, the department "ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees from South Sudan." Both of the immigrants alleged to have been sent to South Sudan on Tuesday were the subjects of final removal orders allowing the government to deport them to their countries of origin, according to court filings. In their filing, the attorneys included an email from the wife of a Vietnamese immigrant who said she believed her husband and at least 10 other people were deported to South Sudan on Tuesday morning. She said the immigrants had refused to sign forms facilitating their deportations to a country not their own. The woman, whose name was redacted in the filing, wrote to her husband's attorneys, "The order of removal signed by a judge is to deport my husband back to his country of origin, Vietnam, not to any other third country." The Trump administration had tried to send a group of immigrants to Libya this month. The immigrants were from countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos, according to an emergency motion their lawyers filed at the time. That flight wasstopped after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order. The judge said the immigrants needed to be given notice and the chance to raise concerns about possible torture or persecution. The attempt to stop or reverse the deportations to South Sudan is before the same judge. The immigration attorneys believe at least one of the people the Trump administration had tried to send to Libya was sent to South Sudan. Efforts to reach the South Sudanese government for comment were not successful.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 20, 2025

Lawyers battle over Trump admin deporting immigrants to war-torn South Sudan

Lawyers battle over Trump admin deporting immigrants to war-torn South Sudan For thesecond time in less than two weeks, immigration lawyers ...

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Rubio Says Thousands of Visas Likely Revoked

Rubio Says Thousands of Visas Likely Revoked

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee hearing to review the Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Department of State on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Credit - Jose Luis Magana—AP Thousands of visas have probably been revoked by the State Department since President Donald Trump took office, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday. "I don't know the latest count, but we probably have more to do," the former Senator said. "We're going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education facilities." The estimate marks a significant increase from late March, when Rubio said student visa cancellationsstood at 300. "A visa is not a right, it's a privilege," he said on Tuesday. The Trump Administration has moved to cancel student visas as part of its broader efforts to crack down on immigration. Foreign-born students who have expressed pro-Palestinian views have in particular been targeted after protesters staged hundreds ofencampmentsacross numerous colleges and universities in an effort to pressure their schools todivest from Israeland voice their dismay at the U.S.'s strong support of the country throughout the ongoing war in Gaza. At least one student, Tufts University's Rumeysa Ozturk, was arrested by ICE earlier this year after shewrote an op-edabout her university's failure to acknowledge Senate resolutions regarding the Gaza conflict. Ozturk has since been released from custody. Another detained student, Columbia University's Mahmoud Khalil, a lead organizer of the college encampments, is still being held at a detention center in Louisiana, where he has been for the past nine weeks. The Administration sought to revoke the immigration status of thousands of international students in April. But itwalked back the efforts—said to affect some 4,700 international students—later in the month following an onslaught of legal challenges and protests, with the Department of Justice announcing that students' immigration records would be reinstated. Tensions between the Trump Administration and higher education institutions remain fraught as federal officials attempt topressure universitiessuch as Harvard to comply with Administration demands—including the elimination of all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs—or face the cancellation of federal funding. Contact usatletters@time.com.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 20, 2025

Rubio Says Thousands of Visas Likely Revoked

Rubio Says Thousands of Visas Likely Revoked Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommi...

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