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North Carolina

NC congressional votes for the week ending May 1

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Here’s how North Carolina members of Congress voted over the previous week.

Along with roll call votes this week, the Senate also passed the Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act (S. 307), to address sexual harassment and sexual assault of Bureau of Prisons staff in prisons.

The House also passed: the Hotel Fees Transparency Act (H.R. 1479), to prohibit unfair and deceptive advertising of prices for hotel rooms and other places of short-term lodging; the Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act (H.R. 2480), to require SelectUSA to coordinate with state-level economic development organizations to increase foreign direct investment in semiconductor-related manufacturing and production; and the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act (H.R. 2444), to establish a critical supply chain resiliency and crisis response program in the Commerce Department, and to secure American leadership in deploying emerging technologies.

House votes

REGULATING LITHIUM BATTERIES: The House has passed the Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act (H.R. 973), sponsored by Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., to have the Consumer Product Safety Commission adopt a rule imposing safety standards for lithium-ion batteries used in electric bikes, scooters, and other personal mobility products. Torres said: “Poorly manufactured lithium-ion batteries often imported from China are hidden ticking time bombs waiting to detonate in American homes and neighborhoods. The danger has become too great to ignore.” The vote, on April 28, was 365 yeas to 42 nays.

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  • NAYS: Harrigan R-NC (10th), Harris (NC) R-NC (8th), Knott R-NC (13th)
  • YEAS: Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), McDowell R-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Edwards R-NC (11th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Foushee D-NC (4th), Moore (NC) R-NC (14th)

ENTERTAINMENT TICKET FEES: The House has passed the Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act (H.R. 1402), sponsored by Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis, R-Fla., to require sellers of tickets to sports, concerts, and other entertainment events to clearly show detailed ticket prices to would-be purchasers. Bilirakis said: “This legislation is about empowering consumers and ensuring fans can enjoy live events by improving ticket price transparency.” The vote, on April 29, was 409 yeas to 15 nays.

  • YEAS: Harrigan R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), Harris (NC) R-NC (8th), McDowell R-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Edwards R-NC (11th), Knott R-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Foushee D-NC (4th), Moore (NC) R-NC (14th)

PRODUCTS WITH SODIUM NITRITE: The House has passed the Youth Poisoning Protection Act (H.R. 1442), sponsored by Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., to ban the sale to consumers of products whose weight is 10 percent or more sodium nitrite. Trahan said: “This bill is focused and reasonable. It targets bad actors who are exploiting a loophole to profit off tragedy, and it does so without burdening responsible businesses.” The vote, on April 29, was 378 yeas to 42 nays.

  • NAYS: Harrigan R-NC (10th), McDowell R-NC (6th), Knott R-NC (13th)
  • YEAS: Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), Harris (NC) R-NC (8th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Edwards R-NC (11th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Foushee D-NC (4th), Moore (NC) R-NC (14th)

INTERNET-CONNECTED APPLIANCES: The House has passed the Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act (H.R. 859), sponsored by Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, to require manufacturers of Internet-connected products to inform shoppers that the products have a camera or microphone. Fulcher said of the need for consumer awareness: “Our stoves or refrigerators shouldn’t be secretly recording conversations in our homes. Such information could be accessed by a hacker or nefarious third party.” The vote, on April 29, was 415 yeas to 9 nays.

  • YEAS: Harrigan R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Adams D-NC (12th), Harris (NC) R-NC (8th), McDowell R-NC (6th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Edwards R-NC (11th), Knott R-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Foushee D-NC (4th), Moore (NC) R-NC (14th)

GLEN CANYON RECREATION: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 60), sponsored by Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, to disapprove of and void a National Park Service rule, issued this January, restricting the use of motor vehicles in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona and Utah. Maloy said that by cancelling the rule, “We can ensure that Glen Canyon remains a place of freedom, adventure, and opportunity for generations to come and isn’t a hindrance to the local economies.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said the rule appropriately “balances visitor use and access with the long-term stewardship and management of park resources.” The vote, on April 29, was 219 yeas to 205 nays.

  • YEAS: Harrigan R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Harris (NC) R-NC (8th), McDowell R-NC (6th), Edwards R-NC (11th), Knott R-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Moore (NC) R-NC (14th)
  • NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Foushee D-NC (4th)

CALIFORNIA VEHICLE EMISSIONS REGULATIONS: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 87), sponsored by Rep. John James, R-Mich., to disapprove of and void an Environmental Protection Agency notice granting the California Air Resources Board a waiver allowing that state to impose various emissions standards on motor vehicles. James said a waiver “allows California to ram its comply-or-die, zero-emission truck rule down the throat of the American trucking industry, essentially gutting the trucking industry all across Michigan and across the country.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Luz M. Rivas, D-Calif., said: “Strong vehicle standards protect Americans from expensive and volatile fossil fuels and accelerate the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies to help us compete globally.” The vote, on April 30, was 231 yeas to 191 nays.

  • YEAS: Harrigan R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Harris (NC) R-NC (8th), McDowell R-NC (6th), Edwards R-NC (11th), Knott R-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Moore (NC) R-NC (14th)
  • NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Foushee D-NC (4th)

VEHICLE NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSIONS: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 89), sponsored by Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., to disapprove of and void an Environmental Protection Agency rule issued this January that granted the California Air Resources Board a waiver allowing the state to regulate vehicle nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Obernolte said: “If we were to allow every single state in the country to establish its own emission standards for those trucks, every one of these goods would have to stop at every single state line and be trans-shipped from one truck to another truck. Madam Speaker, that is ridiculous, costly, inefficient, and unnecessary.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said: “Maintaining the California program is critical to improve public health outcomes and secure the right to clean air for everyone.” The vote, on April 30, was 225 yeas to 196 nays.

  • YEAS: Harrigan R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Harris (NC) R-NC (8th), McDowell R-NC (6th), Edwards R-NC (11th), Knott R-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Moore (NC) R-NC (14th)
  • NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Foushee D-NC (4th)

STATUS OF LONGFIN SMELT: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 78), sponsored by Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., to disapprove of and void a 2024 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that listed the San Francisco Bay variety of the longfin smelt fish as an endangered species. LaMalfa said: “The longfin smelt is being used as the latest weapon to take water away from farmers and take water away from people.” An opponent, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., called the listing “both scientifically and legally sound. The longfin population has declined over 99 percent since the 1980s.” The vote, on May 1, was 216 yeas to 195 nays.

  • YEAS: Harrigan R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Harris (NC) R-NC (8th), McDowell R-NC (6th), Edwards R-NC (11th), Knott R-NC (13th), Moore (NC) R-NC (14th)
  • NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Foushee D-NC (4th)

CALIFORNIA CLEAN CARS WAIVER: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 88), sponsored by Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., to disapprove of and void an Environmental Protection Agency notice issued this January that granted the California Air Resources Board a waiver in order to allow the state’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulatory plan. Joyce said that allowing California’s plan to require all new vehicles sold in the state in 2035 to be electric ran against the principles of consumer freedom and open markets, and would impose high costs on drivers. A resolution opponent, Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., said “after the upfront costs, EVs are proven to save consumers considerably through reduced fuel and maintenance costs.” The vote, on May 1, was 246 yeas to 164 nays.

  • YEAS: Harrigan R-NC (10th), Foxx R-NC (5th), Hudson R-NC (9th), Murphy R-NC (3rd), Rouzer R-NC (7th), Harris (NC) R-NC (8th), McDowell R-NC (6th), Edwards R-NC (11th), Knott R-NC (13th), Davis (NC) D-NC (1st), Moore (NC) R-NC (14th)
  • NAYS: Adams D-NC (12th), Ross D-NC (2nd), Foushee D-NC (4th)

Senate votes

CHINA AMBASSADOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of David Perdue to be Ambassador to China. Perdue was a senator from Georgia from early 2015 to early 2021; otherwise, he has been in private business, including as a senior executive at Reebok and Dollar General. A supporter, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, said, “We need a strong leader like David Perdue at the front of our fight with the Chinese government to execute on President Trump’s vision.” The vote, on April 29, was 67 yeas to 29 nays.

  • YEAS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

U.K. AMBASSADOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Warren Stephens to be Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Stephens is chairman of the Stephens investment bank, and a leading philanthropist in Arkansas. A supporter, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called Stephens “the right person to lead our strong, special relationship with the United Kingdom.” The vote, on April 29, was 59 yeas to 39 nays.

  • YEAS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

TURKEY AMBASSADOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Thomas Barrack to be Ambassador to Turkey. Barrack was the founder and CEO of the private equity Colony Capital (since renamed as Digital Bridge) real estate firm, and was an Interior Department official early in the Reagan administration. A supporter, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, called Barrack “the right man to tackle this challenging post” in Turkey, given the country’s ties to Russia and Hamas while remaining a U.S. ally. The vote, on April 29, was 60 yeas to 36 nays.

  • YEAS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

ITALY AMBASSADOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Tilman Fertitta to be Ambassador to Italy, and to concurrently be Ambassador to San Marino. Fertitta is primary owner of the Landry’s hospitality company, the Houston Rockets basketball franchise, and Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos. A supporter, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, voiced confidence that Fertitta would help address U.S. objections to Italy’s barriers to U.S. product imports, and its relatively low military spending levels. The vote, on April 29, was 83 yeas to 14 nays.

  • YEAS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

APPLIANCE ENERGY STANDARDS: The Senate has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 42), sponsored by Rep. Andrew S. Clyde, R-Ga., to disapprove of and void an Energy Department rule issued last October that tightened energy efficiency requirements for consumer appliances such as washing machines, and industrial climate controls. A resolution supporter, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, said: “This rule wastes time and money, raising costs without delivering meaningful energy savings on items like dishwashers, clothes washers, and HVAC systems.” The vote, on April 30, was 52 yeas to 46 nays.

  • YEAS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

TARIFFS EMERGENCY DECLARATION: The Senate has rejected a resolution (S.J. Res. 49), sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that would have voided President Trump’s declaration a month ago of an emergency that involved imposing a base 10% tariff on imports into the U.S., with additional tariffs imposed for numerous specific countries. Wyden said the Senate “cannot be an idle spectator in the tariff madness. The Congress has the power to set tariffs and regulate global trade.” A resolution opponent, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said “disapproving this emergency will undercut the serious negotiations that are underway, which are also yielding results” for the U.S. The vote, on April 30, was 49 yeas to 49 nays. A subsequent motion to reconsider the resolution was tabled by a 50 yeas to 49 nays vote, with Vice President Vance as the 50th yea.

  • NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

REGULATING COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATORS: The Senate has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 75), sponsored by Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Texas, that would nullify and void an Energy Department rule issued this January that set out energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigeration products. A resolution supporter, Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., said keeping the standards “would force commercial fridge and freezer manufacturers to discontinue product lines and close factories in the U.S.” An opponent, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said the standards save energy, cut climate emissions, and “reduce costs for American families and businesses.” The vote, on May 1, was 52 yeas to 45 nays.

  • YEAS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC

REGULATING AIR POLLUTANTS: The Senate has passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 31), sponsored by Sen. John R. Curtis, R-Utah, that would disapprove of and void an Environmental Protection Agency rule regarding emitters of persistent, bioaccumulative hazardous air pollutants. The vote, on May 1, was 52 yeas to 46 nays.

  • YEAS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC



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North Carolina

‘Bonsai in the Blue Ridge’ exhibit brings dozens of displays to North Carolina Arboretum

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June 3, 2026

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‘Bonsai in the Blue Ridge’ exhibit brings dozens of displays to North Carolina Arboretum


ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The North Carolina Arboretum will host a bonanza of bonsai this week with “Bonsai in the Blue Ridge,” a limited-time exhibition of more than 50 living sculptures as part of the American Bonsai Society’s Learning Seminar 2026.

Between June 4-7, arboretum visitors can explore the exhibits for a $5 admission fee, along with the arboretum’s regular parking fee. A press release from the arboretum said there will also be opportunities to register for seminars, workshops and tours led by bonsai artists for an additional cost.

GROWING YOUR GARDEN? PLENTY OF PLANTS FOR PURCHASE AT THE ARBORETUM’S SPRING SALE

“The American Bonsai Society brings together people who share a passion for bonsai. Through world-class publications and events such as the Learning Seminars, ABS promotes and educates, sharing techniques that showcase North American artistic expression and encouraging the use of plant species that grow well in the United States, Canada, and Mexico,” ABS Convention Chair Scott Barboza said in a written statement.

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FILE IMAGE of a bonsai plant that is part of the North Carolina Arboretum’s Bonsai Exhibition Garden. (Photo: North Carolina Arboretum)

Bonsai is the ancient art of shaping trees over time to create miniature living sculptures. The North Carolina Arboretum is no stranger to the art, having established the Bonsai Exhibition Garden in 2005, which showcases up to 50 specimens of traditional Asian bonsai subjects, tropical plants, American species and plants native to the Blue Ridge region.

IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL ASHEVILLE STAGES FLORAL DESIGN EXHIBITION AT NC ARBORETUM

“Bonsai in the Blue Ridge” takes place 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 4, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6, and 9 a.m. to noon Sunday, June 7.

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See a full schedule of events for this week’s seminar at americanbonsaisociety.org.



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North Carolina

Greenville Police Department Join Effort Promoting Safe Firearm Storage

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June 3, 2026

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Greenville Police Department Join Effort Promoting Safe Firearm Storage


The Greenville Police Department joined community leaders in Pitt County this week to promote safe firearm storage as part of North Carolina’s annual NC S.A.F.E. Week of Action, the Greenville Police Department said.

In a statement, the Greenville Police Department thanked NC S.A.F.E. and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for the opportunity to help educate residents about responsible firearm storage practices.

We want to thank NC S.A.F.E. and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for allowing us to help relay to the community the importance of safely securing firearms so that we can avoid tragedies in the future!

The local event follows Gov. Josh Stein’s proclamation recognizing June 1-7 as NC S.A.F.E. Week of Action.

According to Gov. Stein’s office, the campaign aims to encourage gun owners to securely store firearms and make safety resources more widely available across North Carolina.

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An unlocked gun is a tragedy waiting to happen, and too often, it does,” said Governor Josh Stein. “NC S.A.F.E Week is a reminder to all of us about the measures we can all take to keep ourselves and the people we love safe.

Safe firearm storage is one of the simplest steps we can take to prevent tragedies before they happen,” said North Carolina Department of Public Safety Deputy Secretary William Lassiter Lassiter. “NC S.A.F.E. is increasing awareness around secure firearm storage and making safety resources more accessible to help reduce preventable injuries and build safer communities throughout our state.



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North Carolina

The Real Reason North Carolina’s GOP Is Proposing the Most Radical Anti-Abortion Bill Yet

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June 2, 2026

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The Real Reason North Carolina’s GOP Is Proposing the Most Radical Anti-Abortion Bill Yet


Another anti-abortion abolitionist proposal has been in the news. This time, conservative lawmakers in North Carolina have asked voters to approve a state constitutional amendment recognizing the personhood of embryos and establishing that anyone who ends an embryonic life is guilty of first-degree murder. Those penalties might also apply to people pursuing in vitro fertilization or using some contraceptives, given that abortion foes sometimes view either as requiring the taking of unborn life. And that’s the most ordinary part of the proposal: The bill also provides that private individuals have a right to use deadly force to prevent “the willful destruction of life.” House Bill 1232 isn’t clear about exactly who could exercise this constitutional right to vigilante violence. Would it just be available to those seeking to kill abortion providers and patients? Or might it apply even more broadly to those seen to aid them?

The bill has been greeted with bafflement and disbelief. One of its co-sponsors was embarrassed enough to remove his name from the proposal. But the idea of licensing private violence did not come out of thin air. There have been decades of debate about the use of force within the anti-abortion movement. And as conservatives embrace an increasingly punitive agenda, old justifications for violence have reemerged.

Since the 1960s, abortion foes have rallied around the idea that constitutional rights begin the moment an egg is fertilized. That meant that liberal abortion laws would violate the federal Constitution. Because that claim didn’t gain traction in the federal courts, abortion opponents didn’t have to settle what it would mean in practice to enforce this idea of personhood. Did it require that abortion be punished as murder, or that women be punished? Might it instead require more support for women during pregnancy?

By the 1980s, as the anti-abortion movement aligned with the Republican Party, the movement’s leaders increasingly retooled their ideas of justice for the unborn to fit the GOP’s tough-on-crime agenda. They endorsed fetal homicide laws and backed prosecutions based on conduct during pregnancy. But these moves didn’t lead to the reversal of Roe, much less a decline in the abortion rate.

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Frustration led to a wave of lawbreaking. Operation Rescue, a clinic blockade group, invited supporters to use civil disobedience and break the law if necessary to stop people from entering abortion clinics. Operation Rescue disrupted the Democratic National Convention in 1992 and recorded thousands of arrests. Blockaders even developed a legal argument to justify their actions, drawing on the common law defense of necessity, which allows someone to break a law to achieve a greater moral good.

Some advocates went further. If abortion really were the murder of an equal person, they asked, why wasn’t it justified to use deadly force to protect that equal person?

Prominent figures in the late 1980s and early 1990s elaborated on that argument in books and talk-show appearances. The claim justified kidnappings, firebombings, and a series of murders of doctors, clinic staff, and security. Powerful anti-abortion groups denounced the violence, but the question of deadly force struck others as surprisingly complex. If a fertilized egg was an equal person, and if the way to protect that person involved violence, why was deadly force off limits?

While violence against abortion clinics and providers never went away, it receded from the peak of the 1980s and early 1990s. The federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which heightened penalties for threats, violence, and obstruction of people entering facilities, radically undercut the clinic blockade movement when Congress passed it in 1994. So did the conviction of high-profile murder defendants like Michael Griffin and Paul Hill. The clinic blockade movement was consumed by internal divides, with multiple organizations even claiming the name Operation Rescue. Anti-abortion leaders mostly focused on change through the courts and politics.

Now that Roe is gone, the movement is at an inflection point. Personhood has become the movement’s new North Star. And while success in the federal courts isn’t imminent, there is now no reason a state couldn’t enforce any vision of personhood. That means that conservatives have to decide what they mean by enforcing the rights of the unborn. This bill is a sign that even punishing women doesn’t strike some as harsh enough.

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This bill won’t pass. For starters, North Carolina is not the most likely state to pass any abortion abolitionist bill; at the moment, it doesn’t even ban abortion from the moment of fertilization. And no state has yet passed any kind of abolitionist proposal, much less one allowing people to gun one another down in the name of protecting life.

But this bill has a different resonance now that Donald Trump has pledged not to enforce the FACE Act in the abortion context except in the most extreme circumstances. It is also a reminder of how the Overton window on personhood is shifting. Abolitionists who call for the punishment of women are gaining influence in state legislatures and movement debates. They have developed their own incremental approach: In South Carolina, for example, Richard Cash, a powerful lawmaker, tried this session to advance a bill punishing women for abortion, but only for a misdemeanor, rather than a felony. The bill became the second abolitionist proposal to pass through a committee this spring before time ran out to pass it this session.

Leading anti-abortion groups still speak out against abolitionists, but their strategy is clear: normalizing the idea of punishing women. The more extreme proposals conservatives advance, the more previously unthinkable ideas become politically realistic.



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