Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) tore into the hyper partisan election bill pushed by Democrats, the “For the People Act,” during the Senate Rules Committee's markup on the legislation. Passed with no Republican support in the House, the legislation would give the federal government jurisdiction over elections.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and his caucus claim that the bill is dire for the sanctity of elections, but the contents of the sweeping legislation is strictly partisan, as McConnell pointed out during the markup. He encouraged Democrats to stop pushing the “flowery language” surrounding the bill and look at the real line items.
"This bill has purely partisan support in the House, it had bipartisan opposition. It's one thing to make fiscal policy that way to use reconciliation to tax and spend, but it's very different to try to hot wire our democracy itself without single vote from the other side," McConnell said. "If this bill were to pass, nobody would have any confidence in it, none whatsoever. Let's call it what it is. Put aside the flowery language. This is a partisan effort to take over how you do, how you conduct elections in our country."
Democrats want to rewrite the rules of our elections and restrict Americans’ free speech on a purely partisan basis.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) May 11, 2021
Hard to imagine anything that would shatter public confidence in our democracy more dramatically than a transparent partisan power grab. pic.twitter.com/bjrCh4tFeW
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Schumer, on the other hand, accused Republicans opposed to S1 of engaging in "voter suppression."
Sen. Chuck Schumer: "My Republican colleagues, if you choose the path of uncompromising opposition, you will cast yourself in league with the most reprehensible, sweeping voter suppression effort in decades." pic.twitter.com/CbD4PQUJlZ
— The Hill (@thehill) May 11, 2021
With Republicans united against the Democrat-led legislation, the bill is unlikely to clear the 60-vote threshold in the upper chamber.
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