McCarthy rips 'extreme minority party' after no Dems support 'parents bill of rights'

Democratic and Republican leaders took turns accusing the other party of being "extreme" on Friday after the House of Representatives passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act mostly along party lines.

In the lead-up to the vote, Democrats accused the bill of promoting "fascism" and said it was "extreme," claiming it will lead to banning books and outing LGBTQ+ students. No Democrats voted for the legislation, and after it passed, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N. Y., told reporters the GOP was attempting to "jam their right-wing ideology down the throats of students, teachers and parents throughout America."

"Extreme MAGA Republicans want to ban books on the Holocaust. Ban books on the Holocaust. Extreme MAGA Republicans want to ban books on Martin Luther King Jr. Extreme MAGA Republicans want to ban books on the LGBTQ journey in the United States of America. Extreme MAGA Republicans even want to ban a book on Roberto Clemente and baseball," Jeffries claimed at the weekly Democratic press conference Friday. "That's their educational agenda."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., also led a news conference with members of his party, returning fire at the Democrats for opposing the bill.

"We have such an extreme minority party that they couldn't even denounce socialism," McCarthy said, referring to a House resolution condemning socialism that Democrats opposed. "Such an extreme minority party that thinks you should decriminalize carjacking and even some forms of murder. Such an extreme minority party, in the Democrats, that they think parents shouldn't have a say in their kids' education."

Republicans say their legislation channels growing anger from parents across the country about access to information on everything from school curricula to safety and mask policies to the prevalence of gender ideology and critical race theory in the classroom.... (Read more)

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