Dems delay Sessions vote

[easyt65]

Dems delay Sessions vote, as 4 other Trump nominees clear committee

"The Senate on Tuesday morning gave preliminary approval to four of President Trump’s Cabinet-level picks, though Democratic leaders delayed consideration of the president’s choice for attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions."



Are the Democrats delaying Sessions' confirmation as Attorney General to give Hillary more time to negotiate with the Ecuadorians for approval to hide out and become Julian Assange's roommate?

 

[Fenton Lum]

Maybe they just got stoned.

 

[waltky]

Pocahontas gets put in her place...

McConnell Cuts Off Warren to Reprimand Her for Slamming Sessions, Calling It Violation of Senate Rule
February 7th, 2017 - Senator Elizabeth Warren was reprimanded on the Senate floor tonight for a speech she delivered railing against Senate colleague and AG nominee Jeff Sessions.

At issue here was her quoting of incredibly critical words that Ted Kennedy and Coretta Scott King used in the past to oppose Sessions when he was up for a judgeship in the 80s. (You can read King’s letter here.) Warren was initially warned not to impugn another senator’s motives by Senator Steve Daines, the presiding officer tonight, in violation of Rule 19 of the Senate, which, in part, says this: No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.

Warren expressed some bewilderment that quoting King and Kennedy “is a violation of Senate rules.” Daines said that it is, and he just warned her to be aware of this rule. Warren continued, but a little over 20 minutes later, as she kept reading, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell interjected and said she has “impugned the motives and conduct of our colleague from Alabama.”

He invoked Rule 19, and Warren immediately responded, “I am surprised that the words of Coretta Scott King are not suitable for debate in the United States Senate. I ask leave of the Senate to continue my remarks.” McConnell immediately objected and Daines told Warren to take her seat. Warren immediately appealed the ruling. The Senate eventually took a vote tonight and voted 49-43 upholding the ruling that she violated Rule 19.

MORE

See also:

Warren barred from speaking on Senate floor for rest of Sessions debate
February 07, 2017 - Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was prohibited Tuesday night from speaking on the Senate floor for the rest of the debate over Sen. Jeff Sessions' nomination to be attorney general.

The drama began when Warren, quoting a 30-year-old letter by civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, referred to the Alabama Republican as a "disgrace." King's letter was written in 1986, when Sessions was nominated to the federal bench but was never confirmed. King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., also wrote that when acting as a federal prosecutor, Sessions used his power to "chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens." Warren's reference drew the ire of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said that Warren had "impugned the motives of our colleague from Alabama."

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. advised Warren that she was out of order under Rule XIX of the Senate, which states that "no Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator." "I'm reading a letter from Coretta Scott King to the Judiciary Committee from 1986 that was admitted into the record," Warren argued. "I'm simply reading what she wrote about what the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be a federal court judge meant and what it would mean in history for her."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate in Washington about the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be Education Secretary.​

After a few parliamentary moves, McConnell called for a vote to affirm Daines' ruling that Warren was out of order. The GOP-controlled Senate backed him up, 49-43, before defeating a Democratic effort to restore Warren's speaking privileges, 50-43. "She was warned, she was given an explanation," McConnell said of Warren. "Nevertheless, she persisted." Democrats seized on the flap to charge that Republicans were muzzling Warren, sparking liberals to take to Twitter to post the King letter in its entirety. Warren herself issued a statement vowing that she "will not be silent while the Republicans rubber stamp an Attorney General who will never stand up to President Trump when he violates the Constitution or breaks the law."

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement that McConnell's action was "selective enforcement" of Rule XIX. "Senate Republicans have regularly flaunted Rule XIX in the past – but Republicans never asked them to sit down," said Schumer, who went on to point out that McConnell didn't object when Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called him a liar in a 2015 dustup.

The episode was followed by lamentations by Senate veterans over the chamber's increasingly partisan nature. "I think we ought to be ashamed of each other," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the Senate's most senior Republican. "Everything doesn't have to lead to a fight on the floor." "We've got to grow up [and] take stock of ourselves," Hatch added, before warning that "this place is going to devolve into nothing but a jungle." Sessions is expected to be confirmed when the full Senate votes on his nomination later this week.

Warren barred from speaking on Senate floor for rest of Sessions debate