After another school shooting, what NC’s federal lawmakers said
Hello. It’s Monday again, and this is Danielle Battaglia, here with the latest edition of Under the Dome, focused on the actions of President Donald Trump.
I thought back this past week to the 2022 speech Rep. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, gave on the Senate floor.
“What are we doing?” he asked incredulously.
He had just learned that 19 children and two adults were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Watching Murphy address his colleagues, it was clear he was angry and upset.
“Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate?” he asked. “Why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in a position of authority, if your answer is that, as the slaughter increases, as our kids run for their lives, we do nothing? What are we doing? Why are you here if not to solve a problem as existential as this?”
The raw emotion, coupled with his call to action and disbelief, were so vivid that day.
Three years later, students 14 years old and younger at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota were sitting in their Wednesday morning chapel service when a gunman took a two-by-four to the church doors to lock the children inside and then shot at them through the stained glass windows.
Two children are dead.
Eighteen other people are injured, mostly kids.
Trump quickly asked for prayers from the nation. He ordered American flags to be lowered to half-staff.
But North Carolina’s federal lawmakers were quieter than usual.
Neither senator spoke out on the shooting. The silence of Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville, was especially noticeable since he worked with Murphy following the Uvalde shooting to pass the largest piece of gun reform in 30 years. He was censured by North Carolina Republicans for doing so.
It’s possible that I missed a lawmaker’s statements or comments on the shooting, but typically social media, and especially X, is the first place they’ll post about a shooting.
Reps. Deborah Ross, Pat Harrigan, Chuck Edwards and Brad Knott posted on social media condolences, thanks to law enforcement and their emotions over the shooting.
Republican Rep. Mark Harris said: “Mental illness should be treated, not affirmed.” He also spoke about the shooting on television.
Democratic Rep. Alma Adams had a call to action: “America is the only developed country in the world where this continues to happen. We owe it to our children, teachers, and parents to act and we must act now. Their lives depend on it.
Congress returns this week after taking August off.
What else we’re working on
- T. Keung Hui reports that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could result in only four of the 44 schools that offer free breakfast and lunch to students be able to keep the program that allows for that.
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security told the North Carolina State Board of Elections to run the names of voters through a citizenship verification program, Kyle Ingram reports.
- Ingram reported on four North Carolinians who received nominations from Trump to fill some of the state’s federal judicial positions, ending a standoff leftover from the Biden administration. The Senate would still need to affirm Trump’s choices.
- A former North Carolina congressional candidate faces a criminal charge after lighting an American flag on fire in a park across from the White House challenging Trump’s executive order banning the burning of American flags. The ban is not what led to the charge.
- Local prosecutors tell Virginia Bridges they do not expect North Carolina to be affected by Trump’s elimination of cashless bail.
- The FDA made changes to who can receive COVID vaccines, Evan Moore explains.
That’s it for now. Be kind to each other. And check back tomorrow for the Under the Dome podcast.
If you have any feedback or tips for this edition of the newsletter feel free to reach out to me directly at dbattaglia@mcclatchydc.com.
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