The leaders of the Vermont Senate are decrying the use of a racial slur by a witness during a break of an online meeting of the transportation committee.
In a statement, Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint said the witness made the comments when all committee members and staff of the Senate Transportation Committee were away from their computers.
Lt. Gov. Molly Gray says the witness, an employee of a consultant working for the Agency of Transportation, has been terminated by his employer.
The comments were recorded during the Wednesday hearing, which was being conducted online. The state has edited that portion of the meeting because the language, the n-word, is considered hate speech.
The online newspaper VTDigger recorded the segment before it was scrubbed from the state website.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contents © copyright 2021. All rights reserved.