2 North Carolina state legislators lose leadership roles after remarks

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two North Carolina state House Republicans have lost their caucus leadership positions after recent comments directed at Democratic colleagues questioning their educational attainment and religion.

Reps. Keith Kidwell and Jeff McNeely have resigned as deputy majority whips after the GOP leadership team asked them to step down, House Majority Leader John Bell said in a news release on Thursday.

“As elected officials, we must serve by example and be accountable for our actions, especially as leaders in the caucus,” Bell said. “While apologies have been made and accepted, we believe this is an appropriate action and step forward.”

Neither McNeely nor Kidwell, both of whom are white, responded immediately Thursday to phone messages left at their legislative offices seeking comment. They remain sitting legislators. Deputy whips are tasked with helping corral votes on issues important to members of their party. The Democrats who were the subjects of the comments are both Black.

During a May 17 debate on legislation to dramatically expand the state's private-school voucher system, McNeely asked Democratic Rep. Abe Jones, a former trial judge, about attending Harvard University and Harvard law school.

McNeely asked Jones whether he would “have been able to maybe achieve this if you were not an athlete or a minority or any of these things, but you were a student trapped" in a low-performing school.

House Minority Leader Robert Reives complained at once about the question. Speaker Tim Moore cut off McNeely, who later apologized to Jones, saying it “did not come out right.”

The night before, during another tense debate on whether to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a bill banning most abortions after 12 weeks, Democratic Rep. Diamond...