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The House of Representatives of North Carolina meets as the Legislative Assembly plans to repeal the controversial HB2 transgender access to bathroom law in Raleigh, North Carolina. in the United States, December 21, 2016.Reuters / Jonathan Drake
- The Republicans of North Carolina on Wednesday triggered a pandemonium in the House of Representatives by voting a controversial budget, while some Democrats were absent at a 9/11 commemorative ceremony.
- Republicans overturned Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's veto on the state budget by 55 votes to 9.
- We still do not know where the Democrats were at the time of the vote and how many of them attended the 9/11 commemorative events, but The News & Observer reported only one democrat did it.
- Democratic leaders accused the Republicans of deception, saying they assured them that there would be no formal vote on the eighteenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
- Visit the Insider Homepage for more stories.
Republicans in the North Carolina House of Representatives astonished fellow Democrats Wednesday by holding a surprise vote and voting a controversial budget while many of its members were absent.
Republicans overturned Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's veto on the state budget by 55 votes to 9, while their colleagues were absent during a 9/11 commemorative ceremony.
To cancel the veto of a governor, Republicans had to obtain a three-fifths majority vote from those present. Local news agencies reported that Republicans in the state had been trying for months to override Cooper's veto, and took the opportunity to devote their time to honoring the 2,977 people killed in attacks of 11 September 2001.
It remains unclear where the Democrats were at the time of the vote and how many of them were attending commemoration ceremonies in districts near the state. The News & Observer reported only one democrat did it. Cooper also said that he was at a memorial event but did not know if any other members were present.
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Democrats also claimed that they had been deceived by the Republicans into believing that there would be no vote in their absence. At a press conference, House Minority Leader Darren Jackson said that the Speaker of the House had told him that the House would hold no recorded votes before 1 pm.
"You make fun of this process"
At a press conference on Wednesday, Cooper told reporters that the Republicans' move was "a real assault on our democracy, no question."
He said voters should be "outraged that these Republican leaders orchestrate such a trickery, such a trick to get their way".
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Social media quickly reported chaos in the House as Democrats shouted at their Republican colleagues. Representative Deb Butler, a Democrat present at the vote, could be heard condemning Republican Speaker Tim Moore.
"How dare you do that, Mr. President," said Butler. "Mr. Speaker, you are making fun of this process, you are cheating all of North Carolina Your leadership is an embarrassment to the history of this great state."
Butler later told reporters that she was threatened with arrest, said WRAL, an affiliate of NBC, although the weapons sergeant in the House denied the threats.
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