Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) issued the following statement Thursday in response to the White House press secretary’s admission that the federal government won’t withhold funds for North Carolina’s public schools, roads and other programs until courts provide clarity on whether men have a ‘right’ to use women’s bathrooms:

“Today the Obama administration admitted what we have said all along -- that their threat to withhold funding and bully North Carolinians into accepting their radical argument that men have a ‘civil right’ to use women’s bathrooms and shower facilities would have to be settled in court. We appreciate the Republican members of North Carolina’s U.S. House delegation for standing up for common sense and making clear that any attempt to withhold federal funding is without legal merit and would be an unprecedented overreach by the federal government.”