Hours after staging a 24-hour talkathon against Betsy DeVos’ nomination for education secretary, Senate Democrats were back at it Tuesday night. This time, Republicans had the last word.
As the Senate debated the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., delivered a blistering critique. She accused Sessions of trying to “chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens.”
That’s when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stepped in to call out Warren for violating Senate Rule 19—impugning the motives and conduct of Sessions.
The Senate proceeded to vote, 49-43, prohibiting Warren from speaking throughout the remainder of the debate on Sessions.