SCHUMER DENIED McConnell BLOCKS Vote to ‘Protect’ Robert Mueller
Source: https://goo.gl/waHV1Y
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell flat-out rebuked Congressional Democrats Tuesday; announcing he has no plans to introduce legislation to the Senate floor to “protect” Robert Mueller from being fired.
According to the Associated Press, McConnell was speaking with Fox News when he outright rejected Sen. Chuck Schumer’s demand that the special counsel be immune from removal by the President, saying “we’ll not be having” a vote anytime soon.
“We’ll not be having this on the floor of the Senate,” McConnell said on Fox News.
His remarks come just days after lawmakers introduced legislation to ensure the special counsel continue his nearly year-long probe; regardless of future developments and potential staff shake-ups inside the Department of Justice.
“I think having Congress tell him what we believe he should do in this case is simply poking the bear, and I’d just prefer not to do that,” said GOP Sen. Mike Rounds.
Trump has also privately pondered firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing Mueller’s investigation.
Within a day of Trump’s criticism, Republicans Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina combined two bills they introduced last summer to protect special counsels. They introduced the new bill along with Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican, announced that his committee would vote on the bill.
The legislation would give any special counsel a 10-day window to seek expedited judicial review of a firing, and would put into law existing Justice Department regulations that require a firing to be for “good cause.”
Democrats immediately jumped on the legislation, but many Republicans have been cool to it.
At least three of the 11 GOP members of the Judiciary panel have said they will vote against it and another five have said they have questions about its constitutionality. Grassley is one of those with concerns, but said he felt obligated to hold a vote.
Republicans off the committee had questions too — and some acknowledged that it could be politically difficult.