Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) today threw down the gauntlet to Republican leader Mitch McConnell in the Senate Rules Committee hearing. At issue is something dear to democracy—the security of our elections, which the Mueller Report made clear was violated, at least in part, in 2016. Nevertheless, McConnell refuses to bring an election security bill to the floor. Here are some of Durbin’s comments:
“At the CIA and intelligence agencies, millions of dollars are being spent to stop the Russians from making a mess of the 2020 election. And yet in the United States Senate, we can’t bring a bill to the floor to even debate it. Doesn’t speak very well of us. They [the Russians] are coming at us again and they may not be alone in their efforts. And shame on us if as elected members of the Senate, we can’t even bring the matter to the floor for a vote or debate. We have an obligation, more than anything, to make sure the integrity of our elections and democracy is protected.”
Watch Durbin’s full speech here: