Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is likening Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellâs (R-Ky.) âlanguageâ and âlogicâ to that of âsouthern senators in the 60sâ after Democratsâ voting rights bill failed to advance.
Schumer on Tuesday evening accused Republicans of engaging in âthe most sweeping voter suppression in 80 years, capitalizing on and catalyzed by Donald Trumpâs âbig lie.'â
He mentioned McConnellâs previous statement to reporters, saying, âRegardless of what may be happening in some states, there is no rationale for federal intervention.â
Schumer explained, âThe Republican leader flatly stated that no matter what the states do to undermine our democracy, voter suppression laws, phony audits, partisan takeovers of local election boards, the Senate should not act.â
He continued, âMy colleagues, if senators 60 years ago held that the federal government should never intervene to protect voting rights, this body would have never passed the Voting Rights Act. The Republican leader uses the language and the logic of the Southern senators in the 60s who defended statesâ rights, and it is an indefensible position.â
Watch his comments below:
In a 50-50 vote on Tuesday, Republican senators blocked the For the People Act. Schumer made it clear the fight does not end here.
âOnce again Senate Republicans have signed their names in the ledger of history alongside Donald Trump, the big lie and voter suppression to their enduring disgrace. ⌠But I want to be very clear about one thing: The fight to protect voting rights is not over, by no means,â Schumer said after the vote.
He also called the Republican filibuster âridiculous and awful.â
Schumer continued, âMake no mistake about it, it will not be the last time voting rights comes up for a debate in the Senate. ⌠We have several serious options for how to reconsider this issue and advance legislation to combat voter suppression. We are going to explore every last one of our options.â
According to The Associated Press, the bill would âtouch on virtually every aspect of how elections are conducted, striking down hurdles to voting that advocates view as the Civil Rights fight of the era, while also curbing the influence of money in Politics and limiting partisan influence over the drawing of congressional districts.â
