Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:29 pm
Speaking at a Rules Committee meeting on an election reform bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized Republicans for backing former President Donald Trump’s “big lie that the election was stolen.”
“Unfortunately, the big lie is spreading like a cancer among Republicans. It’s enveloping and consuming the Republican Party, in both houses of Congress,” Schumer said.
Every Republican in this room knows Joe Biden won the election fair and square. Every Republican knows that Donald Trump perpetrated the big lie. But the price of admission in today’s Republican Party is silence in the face of provable lies,” he added.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
“Liz Cheney spoke truth to power, and for that, she’s being fired,” Schumer said.
Chief among Schumer’s concerns: Republicans working to restrict Americans’ ability to vote.
“Don’t tell us these laws are about voter fraud,” he said, referring to GOP claims that voter fraud is rampant despite evidence to the contrary. “You are more likely in America to be struck by lightning than to commit voter fraud… These laws are about one thing, and one thing alone: Making it harder for Americans to vote.”
Sen. Schumer on GOP voting restrictions: "Don't tell us these laws are about voter fraud. You are more likely in America to be struck by lightning than to commit voter fraud… These laws are about one thing, and one thing alone: Making it harder for Americans to vote." pic.twitter.com/JI87HNx500
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 11, 2021
Schumer also came to the defense of Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), whom Republicans are prepared to oust from her position as the No. 3 House Republican for refusing to entertain Trump’s fictions.
“Liz Cheney spoke truth to power, and for that, she’s being fired,” Schumer said.
The favorite to replace Cheney in her role as conference chair is Elise Stefanik, who received Trump’s endorsement.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
