Elizabeth Warren rebuked for quoting Coretta Scott King in Senate debate on Jeff Sessions nomination
The Massachusetts Democrat is now forbidden from speaking again on his nomination
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Senator Elizabeth Warren was rebuked by the Senate for quoting Coretta Scott King after a top Senate Republican said she had violated rules for “impugning the motives” of Senator Jeff Sessions.
The Massachusetts Democrat ran afoul of the chamber’s arcane rules by reading a three-decade-old letter from Dr Martin Luther King’s widow, which said Mr Sessions used his power when acting as federal prosecutor to “chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens”.
By quoting Ms King, Ms Warren was technically in violation of Senate rules for “impugning the motives” of Mr Sessions, though senators have said far worse.
And Ms Warren was reading from a letter written 10 years before Mr Sessions was elected to the Senate.
Still, Mitch McConnell invoked the rules and the GOP-controlled Senate voted to back him.
Ms Warren is now forbidden from speaking again on Mr Sessions’ nomination.
Democrats argued Republicans were attempting to silence Ms Warren, sparking liberals to take to Twitter to post Ms King’s letter in its entirety.
Ms Warren argued: “I’m reading a letter from Coretta Scott King to the Judiciary Committee from 1986 that was admitted into the record.
“I’m simply reading what she wrote about what the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be a federal court judge meant and what it would mean in history for her.”
She was originally warned after reading from a statement by former Senator Edward Kennedy, which labelled Mr Sessions a disgrace.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments