NC Senate Democrat rebuked by Republican leader for ‘unacceptable lack of decorum’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Senate Rules Chair Bill Rabon sent a letter of warning to Sen. Terence Everitt.
- Rabon urged apology and decorum, stopping short of formal punitive action.
- Republicans who control the Senate with a supermajority passed a congressional map.
A Democratic state senator has received a letter from a high-ranking Senate Republican saying comments he made on the chamber’s floor this fall “have no place in the Senate, or in any workplace.”
The News & Observer has obtained a letter sent to Wake County Sen. Terence Everitt on Nov. 12 by powerful Senate Rules Chair Bill Rabon, a Southport Republican. While Rabon didn’t mention a specific comment, he referenced the October session, which was brief and included contentious debate on the floor. That’s when the legislature passed a plan backed by President Donald Trump to redraw an Eastern North Carolina congressional district to give Republicans an extra seat in Congress.
Republicans hold a 30-20 supermajority in the Senate.
Rabon said he was writing “to address your escalating and unacceptable lack of decorum as a member of this body.”
During the floor debate in October, Everitt said “History will remember the day fascism came to North Carolina,” and referring to Senate Republicans in favor of the bill, said, “And y’all couldn’t wait to get on your knees,” The N&O previously reported.
Over two hours of debate that day, The N&O reported, nearly every Democrat in the Senate criticized the plan, saying Republicans were disenfranchising Black voters on behalf of Trump.
Rabon also referenced an email as well as the floor debate, and said that Everitt “directed overtly and entirely inappropriate remarks towards fellow senators that are far beneath the standard of conduct expected of anyone serving in the North Carolina Senate. I will not repeat your words here, but do know they are preserved should this behavior continue.”
The News & Observer called and texted Everitt late Thursday afternoon but was not immediately able to reach him. The N&O also asked for comment from Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch. A spokesperson for Rabon said his office had not received a formal response to the letter as of Wednesday afternoon.
In the letter, Rabon went on to say that “heated disagreement between elected members is commonplace and expected. But personal, derogatory remarks of the kind you seem to inject frequently onto the Senate floor and level against members not only disrespect your colleagues and the observing public, they undermine the integrity of this institution.”
The Rules chair, who also leads Senate operations, urged Everitt to reflect on his actions and apologize to the senators he targeted with his comments. Rabon did not list any particular senators.
“I urge you to reflect on your actions, issue apologies to those senators toward whom you directed these comments, and strive to reach a level of professionalism, respect, and decorum that your place in the North Carolina Senate demands — and that you have thus far failed to meet,” Rabon wrote.
“There is no place in the Senate, or in any workplace, for this type of derision. You are obliged to respect your colleagues. While your tenure here cautions against expecting better from you, I am writing to make clear I require better from you moving forward,” he said.
Rabon did not mention any punitive actions, unlike what happened when Everitt served in the House.
Everitt’s past punishment from Republicans
This isn’t the first time Everitt has drawn the ire of Republicans in control. It also happened while he was serving in the House in 2023, when U.S. Rep. Tim Moore was speaker.
Everitt’s public criticism of Moore included calling for a criminal investigation into allegations made as part of a lawsuit accusing Moore of breaking up a marriage. That resulted in Moore relocating Everitt’s House office to the Legislative Building basement. The office, once a supply closet, was near the General Assembly Police Department, human resources, the press room and the cafeteria. After Everitt left the House, the room was turned back into a supply closet.
Rifts between Senate Democrats, Republicans this session
This also isn’t the first time this year there has been contention between Senate Republicans and Democrats beyond typical legislative debate.
Batch, a Wake County Democrat, did not get the same discretion over staff, offices and seating as her predecessor, The N&O previously reported in May.
That rift between Senate leaders widened further during October’s map debate, when Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger used a procedural move to end debate.
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 6:39 PM.
