WASHINGTON (AP) — Jolted by political lighting for the second time in two weeks, House Republicans are staring at turmoil and uncertainty after Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's astonishing decision to abandon his campaign to become the chamber's next speaker.
GOP lawmakers, who lately have acted more like feuding relatives than a unified party, were meeting Friday to discuss their next move. On Thursday, Republicans munching barbecue at a closed-door meeting where they seemed ready to coronate McCarthy as their candidate for speaker were aghast when the Californian rose and told them he wouldn't seek the job.
Yesterday on Beacon Hill, advocates for legislation known as the "bathroom bill" lobbied for the "right" to use public restrooms and locker rooms "consistent with their gender identity."
When asked how this legislation would impact the right to privacy of biological women forced to share the facilities with a biological man who "identifies" as female, both the Massachusetts Attorney General and the Chairman of the legislative committee conducting the hearing essentially said that those who are concerned about privacy in public restrooms need to just get over it the same way that society has "gotten over" objections to racially integrating bathrooms and public pools.
