As House and Senate Republicans gather in Baltimore for their annual retreat this week, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says Democrats will force votes on Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s proposals.
“These votes will give all Senators a chance to take a stand on the policy issues dominating the public debate – and Republicans a chance to stand with the frontrunner for their nomination,” Reid said in a statement.
He jabbed that the votes could be scheduled under an “open amendment process, with no interference to the light workload Senate Republican leaders have announced for 2016.”
While Republican congressional leaders have kept the GOP frontrunner at arms length, Trump’s success is impossible for them to avoid as Republicans convene this week to lay out their agenda for the coming year.
“If Republicans are afraid to bring their standard-bearer’s policies up for votes, Democrats will hold Republicans accountable by seeking floor votes on Trump’s policies ourselves,” Reid said in his Thursday statement, noting that among the Trump policies he wants the Senate to consider is the candidate’s proposal to temporarily halt Muslims from entering the country.
When asked about Reid’s threat, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters, according to The Hill, that the GOP could pull the same trick with Democratic presidential candidates.
“It’s worth noting that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and so you could expect amendments that they might not like related to the Sanders or Clinton campaigns,” he said, according to The Hill.
McConnell added that he tries to keep presidential election politics out of the upper chamber.
“[A]s a general rule, what I’ve tried to ask the Senate to do is let the presidential candidates run their race, and let’s try to do the people’s business,” the Majority Leader said.
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