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Republicans are always complaining that they can’t read legislation when a Democrat is in the White House, but now that Donald Trump is back in the Oval Office, they are trying to rush their way voting on a bill that takes food and medical care away from millions while they cut taxes for the very wealthy.
Senate Democrats want to make sure that Republicans know what they are voting on, so they are considering having all 1,100 pages of the tax cuts for the rich bill read aloud on the Senate floor.
Burgess Everett of Semafor posted on X:
News: Schumer + Democrats are considering having the Senate clerk read the entire GOP reconciliation bill on the floor. No decision yet on whether to do it. Sen. Ron Johnson forced the clerks to read the entire ARP in 2021. He said this week he bought them a case of wine after.
The move by the Democrats wouldn’t be all fun and games.
Senate Democrats would also be gumming up the works and delaying potential Senate passage of the legislation.
Democrats are having success with making Republicans work and rework the bill because of rulings by the parliamentarian, and they seem to be pulling out all the stops to slow down this bill.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor:
It’s been a pretty rough week for Donald Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill.” As everyone watching can tell, things haven’t gone according to plan at all.
The bill has been bucking under its own weight. The delays have piled up. And it’s obvious large chunks of the Republican conference don’t like their own bill.
But of course, we’re hearing that Republicans may still try to bring this legislation to the floor as soon as tomorrow. This is not real legislating. This is a total rush job.
This is Donald Trump bullying Senate Republicans to get a bill passed, no matter what is actually in it. And this is Republican leadership perhaps daring their own members—who are deeply worried about this bill—to oppose it on the floor.
Republicans still don’t know if they have the votes to advance the legislation, but what is certain is that Democrats are doing everything in their power to slow this process down.
What do you think of the Democrats having the entire bill read aloud on the Senate floor? Share your thoughts in the comments below.