Under the Dome: An exclusive interview with Rep. Cecil Brockman
Good morning! ☀️ Here’s what you need to know in North Carolina politics today.
It’ll be a busy day today at the General Assembly.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will take up House Bill 10, the GOP’s long-standing measure to force sheriffs to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, at 11 a.m. You can watch the meeting here.
The NC Second Chance Alliance will also be at the Legislative Building today for its lobby day, pushing for changes that help people with criminal records. Sen. Julie Mayfield of Asheville will hold a press conference related to that at 1 p.m. — Avi Bajpai
Here’s more, from correspondent Stephanie Loder and me.
REP. CECIL BROCKMAN ON MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES, CRITICISM WITHIN PARTY
State Rep. Cecil Brockman is one of a handful of House Democrats who have faced scrutiny from their party’s progressive flank, over their support for the GOP budget last fall, and other votes in which they broke ranks with Democrats and joined the Republicans.
Brockman faced a formidable primary challenge from James Adams, a former president of the High Point NAACP last month. Brockman won by 85 votes.
In an exclusive interview, Brockman sat down with The News & Observer to respond to criticism he’s received from within his party for voting for the GOP budget.
Brockman also opened up about how his mental health deteriorated last year, discussing an issue he had decided to keep private up until now.
Get the full story from me here. — Avi Bajpai
ENCAMPMENT SET UP ON UNC CHAPEL HILL CAMPUS
Tents and pro-Palestinian protesters remained Monday at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, one of several nationwide encampments designed to draw attention to the war in Gaza.
A brief timeline of the UNC campus protest, as reported by Korie Dean and Avi Bajpai:
Friday morning: Students for Justice in Palestine’s UNC chapter pitched tents with signs reading “Gaza solidarity encampment” and “Free Palestine.” Pitching tents violated UNC policy regarding temporary structures on its grounds.
Friday afternoon: Protesters dismantled their tents after intervention by UNC-Chapel Hill administrators Christi Hurt, the chief of staff for interim Chancellor Lee Roberts, and Desirée Rieckenberg, the dean of students.
Sunday: The tents were raised again and the pro-Palestinian group urged students to join the encampment. Hundreds of students attended Sunday night.
Monday: UNC took no action to sweep the crowd and its tents, even as organizers predicted that “escalation” was “imminent.”
Protester demands, posted on Instagram, include:
Acknowledge what they say is an ongoing genocide of Palestinians.
Provide full transparency of UNC investments.
Divest from companies they say are complicit in the killing of Palestinian civilians.
The students also asked that the university put an end to study-abroad programs in Israel.
FEDERAL COURT: NC HEALTH PLAN DISCRIMINATED AGAINST TRANS WORKERS
North Carolina’s state health insurance plan discriminated against transgender patients by not covering gender-affirming care, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals made the decision on Monday, but the case could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Transgender state workers sued in 2019, citing a coverage exclusion in the State Health Plan for treatments for gender dysphoria – the conflict between the sex someone is assigned at birth and the gender which they identify.
Republican state Treasurer Dale Folwell, a defendant in the case, argued the exclusion didn’t target transgender people since it applied to everyone diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
Get the full story from Kyle Ingram here.
NC POLITICIANS REACT TO REDDIT CLAIMS OF DRUNKEN LEGISLATORS
A recent social media post alleging that a group of North Carolina politicians were drunk and disruptive during a distillery tour in Kentucky was created anonymously. But, like a swizzle stick in a rock glass of bourbon, it is causing a stir.
The post on Reddit was titled “Disappointing behavior from NC legislators.”
The post was created by a Reddit user identified only as a “representative” of a Kentucky distillery that recently hosted a tour group of 33 people from North Carolina, including legislators and government officials.
The post’s author claimed that the tour group was “already inebriated from drinking bourbon on the bus” when they arrived. The Reddit user wrote the group was “rude, disruptive, not tipping the bartenders and tour guides, and even vomiting in our bathroom sinks.”
Here is what politicians said when questioned on Monday by The News & Observer:
North Carolina Republican Party spokesperson Matt Mercer said he “can confirm it was not a NCGOP event or affiliated with the state party” and directed questions to an advocacy group that did not return calls.
State House Minority Leader Robert Reives said he understood that some members of the House Alcohol Beverage Control Committee were invited to the event, but said no Democrats attended.
State Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincolnton Republican who serves on the ABC committee, told The News & Observer in a text on Monday that “I don’t respond to anonymous posts on the internet.”
Get the full story from Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan and Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi here.
BIDEN HEADS TO WILMINGTON
President Joe Biden plans a stop this week in North Carolina and his destination is Wilmington – the same city where severe storms weeks ago forced his presumed GOP campaign rival, former President Donald Trump, to cancel a rally.
White House officials told McClatchy that Biden plans to highlight his Investing in America agenda during the Thursday trip.
Biden has been a frequent presence in North Carolina, considered a swing state, since launching his 2024 reelection campaign.
No doubt, too, that Biden’s campaign will closely watch the North Carolina weather forecast in the next few days.
Get the full story from Danielle Battaglia here.
VIDEO SHOWS CHAPEL HILL NATIVE HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS
Keith Siegel, an Israeli-American and a native of Chapel Hill taken hostage by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, appeared in a video released this weekend by his captors.
Siegal, who is seen on the video with Israeli hostage Omri Miran, pleaded for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate “a hostage release deal with Hamas,” CNN reported on Saturday.
A video released on Saturday by Hostages Families Forum Headquarters included comments from Siegel’s wife, Aviva, and daughter, Ilan.
“Keith, I love you, we will fight until you return,” Aviva Siegel said in the video, according to CNN.
Get the full story from Avi Bajpai here.
WHAT THE LEGAL WIN FOR SAMANTHA R. MAY MEAN FOR NC
Parents Dana and Tim Rhoney couldn’t get the needed behavioral caregivers for their daughter, Samantha, who has a moving disorder and intellectual disability.
So, they took her case to court.
Samantha’s mother and father worked with the legal advocacy group Disability Rights North Carolina, which filed a lawsuit in 2017 that argued the failure of the state to provide access to behavioral health services violated the rights of people with disabilities.
Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour indicated that he would approve a consent order between the state and Disability Rights NC, according to Lisa Grafstein, an attorney with Disability Rights and a Democratic senator representing Raleigh.
There are 17,000 people on a waitlist for caregivers in North Carolina.
An order from Baddour in 2022 required the state to provide services to everyone on the list and to resolve the shortage of caregivers.
Get the full story from Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi here.
NC EVANGELICAL PASTOR DECRIES TRUMP BIBLE
The Rev. Loran Livingston uses words like “blasphemous” and “disgusting” to condemn what’s known as the Trump Bible because he says it mixes politics and church.
Livingston, a Charlotte evangelical pastor at Central Church, used an April sermon to speak out against the God Bless the USA Bible, endorsed by former President Donald Trump in March at a sale price of $59.99.
Included in the Trump Bible are copies of the:
Constitution.
Declaration of Independence.
Bill of Rights.
Pledge of Allegiance.
There’s even the handwritten chorus to the song “God Bless the USA,” by country singer Lee Greenwood, that often is played at Trump rallies.
Supporters are encouraged by Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, to buy the Bible as he uses the slogan “Let’s Make America Pray Again.” The Bible sales come amid Trump’s mounting legal bills from four criminal indictments and several civil charges.
While evangelicals may be among Trump’s strongest backers, Livingston’s advice from the pulpit is clear: Don’t fall for it, the pastor warned a packed crowd at a recent service.
Get the full story from Joe Marusak here.
That’s all for today. Check your inbox tomorrow for more #ncpol news.
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