Schumer
signaled fight over Trump's voter fraud panel when he called for Congress to
"prohibit its operation" as a part of "must-pass" September
legislation.
Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer signaled a possible fight over President Donald
Trump's election integrity commission on Thursday when he called for Congress
to "prohibit its operation" as a part of "must-pass"
September legislation.
In a Medium
post titled "After Charlottesville, It’s Time to End the Assault on Voting
Rights," Schumer called on Trump to rescind the executive order creating
the panel to investigate voter fraud and other electoral integrity-related
issues.
"If the
president wants to truly show that he rejects the discrimination agenda of the
white supremacist movement, he will rescind the executive order that created
this commission," Schumer said. "And if the president does not act,
the Congress should prohibit its operation through one of the must-pass
legislative vehicles in September."
"Many
of us found the Election Integrity Commission distasteful when it was first
created," he continued. "The president’s recent failure to
unequivocally condemn bigotry makes its rescission imperative."
Schumer
additionally called for public hearings on voting rights, which he said should
include testimony from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the vice chairman
of Trump's commission.
Several
must-pass bills are on the table for Congress in September, including
legislation to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government. Trump threatened
a shutdown at his Tuesday rally in Arizona, and signaled a possible debt
ceiling battle in a pair of Thursday morning tweets.
In an email
exchange with Business Insider, Matt House, Schumer's communications director,
said Schumer could also look to other must-pass legislative vehicles, including
extending the Children's Health Insurance Program and reauthorizing the
National Flood Insurance Program.
"He’s
not picking a specific one," House said.
The voter
fraud panel, which was created in the aftermath of Trump's baseless claim that
millions of people voted illegally in last year's presidential election, held
its first meeting last month. Some fear the true purpose of the commission is
to suppress votes from certain minority groups that typically vote Democratic.
BI
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