With nearly one in five Democratic senators now eyeing the White House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is using his control over the chamber to make life a little more difficult for President Trump’s 2020 challengers.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can call votes designed to make Democratic senators uncomfortable.
“When you have that high a number of U.S. senators who are in a Democratic primary for president, obviously you can cut a pretty wide swath through the field by simply forcing them to take a position on an issue,” said Josh Holmes, McConnell’s former chief of staff and political advisor.
One option is for Democrats to vote “present” instead of in support or opposition, effectively neutering the vote. In 2017, when Republicans tried to force a vote on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All plan, nearly all the Democrats banded together to vote “present” instead of showing party divisions.
Other Democrats said they were eager to show their support for an idea that could differentiate the increasingly crowded Democratic primary field.“I don’t know what [McConnell’s] intentions are exactly,” said Sen. Kamala Harris . “But I’m in favor of it,” she said of the Green New Deal. On Monday, the Senate voted on a bill that would require physicians to provide medical care to a baby born during an attempted abortion. A 17-year-old federal law already requires that an infant born after an attempted abortion must be treated as a person.
McConnell will have to play defense this year as well. He’ll have to navigate his Republican members around a vote next month on whether to block Trump’s emergency declaration on the border wall. The measure is expected to be approved by the House on Tuesday and because of procedural rules, he won’t be able to block it from coming up in the Senate.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
State senate passes bill that would force Trump to publish his tax returns in 2020New Jersey edges closer to introducing a law requiring all presidential candidates in the state to publish five years of tax returns. President Donald Trump has so far refused to release his own.
Consulte Mais informação »