On Sunday’s State of the Union, CNN’s Dana Bash pressed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to give into Democrats’ demands and remove language about abortion from a human trafficking bill.
Despite McConnell pointing out that the language of the bill always included a provision banning funding for abortion, which meant Democrats admitted to never reading the legislation, Bash pressed the Republican to cave and asked “why not just take it out and continue this bipartisan process?”
After Dana Bash outlined why Democrats oppose any human trafficking bill that includes language on abortion, Senator McConnell noted that the language in the bill was nothing new:
The language that they now profess to find offensive was in there from the beginning. They all voted for the very same language in a bill in December… They need to come to grips with this. I offered them a simple up-or-down vote if they wanted to take out language that they all voted -- that they all voted for three months ago.
The CNN host went on to complain that Democrats “can't win that. They can't win that up-or-down vote” to which McConnell pointed out that “sometimes, the majority makes a difference. They all voted for the very same language three months ago, Dana, the very same language, three months ago.”
Bash eventually conceded that McConnell has a “very good point” when he pointed out that Democrats clearly hadn’t read the bill, but the CNN host still wondered “[b]ut now that they have and we are where we are, why not just take it out and continue this bipartisan process?"
The CNN host continued to channel the Democrats’ objections to the bill and accused McConnell of “threatening to hold up Loretta Lynch, who has been in limbo for months and months… unless Democrats give in, Loretta Lynch's nomination will not be on the Senate floor next week?”
Despite Bash’s best attempts, McConnell pointed out that Democrats were the ones delaying Ms. Lynch’s confirmation over the issue of abortion and concluded by explaining that “[w]e have to finish the human trafficking bill. The Loretta Lynch nomination comes next. And as soon as we finish the human trafficking bill, we will turn to the attorney general. “
See relevant transcript below.
CNN’s State of the Union
March 15, 2015
DANA BASH: OK. Let's move on to human trafficking. It's a bill that has -- talk about bipartisan support -- broad bipartisan support to stop human trafficking.
MITCH MCCONNELL: Yes.
BASH: It stalled in the Senate this past week. Democrats say that they are holding it up now because they discovered what they call an anti-abortion provision in there. And they are demanding that you take it out. Just sort of big picture, this is the kind of thing that you said you wanted to stop. It was sort of the gridlock of the old Senate happening again.
MCCONNELL: Yes. I'm glad you brought this up. The Democrats are acting the same way in the minority they did in the majority. They don't seem to like to vote. Here are the facts. This is -- was a noncontroversial bill. It came out of the Judiciary Committee unanimously. The language that they now profess to find offensive was in there from the beginning. They all voted for the very same language in a bill in December.
This is boilerplate language that's been in the law for almost 40 years that they all voted for three months ago in another bill. We are not going to be able to finish the trafficking bill until this gets resolved. And this will have an impact on the timing of considering the new attorney general. Now, I had hoped to turn to her next week, but, if we can't finish the trafficking bill, she will be put off again. They need to come to grips with this. I offered them a simple up-or-down vote if they wanted to take out language that they all voted -- that they all voted for three months ago.
BASH: They can't win that. They can't win that up-or-down vote.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCONNELL: I know, but they're -- you know, sometimes, the majority makes a difference. They all voted for the very same language three months ago, Dana, the very same language, three months ago.
BASH: You have -- you have a very good point, that Democrats admit they didn't do something really basic, which is read the bill and understand what's in it.
MCCONNELL: Yes.
BASH: But now that they have and we are where we are, why not just take it out and continue this bipartisan process?
MCCONNELL: Because a majority of the Senate does not want to take the language out. And all of the Democrats voted for the very same language three months ago. Now, if they want to have time to turn to the attorney general next week, we need to finish up this human trafficking bill. It's extremely important to the country.
BASH: So, it sounds like you are threatening to hold up Loretta Lynch, who has been in limbo for months and months...
MCCONNELL: It's not a threat. We need to finish this human trafficking bill that came out of the Judiciary Committee unanimously. That's the next item.
BASH: Right.
MCCONNELL: It's on -- it's on the Senate floor right now.
BASH: Right.
MCCONNELL: We need to finish that, so we have time to turn to the attorney general, because, the next week, we will be doing the budget, and two weeks -- and the next two weeks after that, Congress is not in session.
BASH: So, unless Democrats give in, Loretta Lynch's nomination will not be on the Senate floor next week?
MCCONNELL: We have to finish the human trafficking bill. The Loretta Lynch nomination comes next. And as soon as we finish the human trafficking bill, we will turn to the attorney general.
