Democrats use procedure to delay Sessions vote again
Senate Democrats deployed an obscure rule on Tuesday to delay a committee vote on attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions, hours after Democrats used different tactics to delay two other Trump nominations.
Democratic senators gave lengthy speeches before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, causing Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to delay the vote on the Alabama Republican until Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
The lengthy speeches allowed Democrats to deploy the so-called "two-hour" rule, which doesn't allow Senate committees meetings to be in session for more than two hours past the opening of the Senate.
In December 2013, Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee used the rule on the panels' hearing on John Koskinen to be commissioner of the IRS.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, gave lengthy comments in which she used former President Ronald Reagan's speech apologizing for the Japanese American internment as why is is against Sessions' nomination. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, also spoke for roughly 30 minutes.
Sessions is expected to be approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Earlier Tuesday, Democrats boycotted a Senate Finance Committee meeting, which prevented the committee from reaching a quorum to vote on two other nominees: treasury secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin, and health and human services secretary nominee Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.
Posts
SHARE
TWEET
Mail
Print
More