WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats refused to yield the Senate floor Tuesday night into Wednesday, demanding action on health care and pushing back against President Trump as the shutdown fight intensifies.
Democrats hold the floor
Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, opened the floor speeches by accusing Republicans of being "unwilling to clean up this mess" created by enacting legislation he says will strip millions of Americans of Medicaid coverage.
Merkley said he’ll keep the Senate floor tonight as long as he’s able. At one point he was standing beside a sign that warns, "Ring the alarm bells: authoritarianism is here now!"
Merkley warned that Trump’s actions since taking office amount to an authoritarian power grab. He’s also criticized the Supreme Court for failing to impose stronger limits on presidential authority.
Merkley speaks
"Colleagues, I'm coming tonight to ring alarm bells because we have become an authoritarian nation over the last nine months," he said. "We are deep into an authoritarian takeover."
Senate Democrats have repeatedly voted down a Republican-backed bill to reopen the government during the 21-day shutdown, insisting Congress first extend subsidies for health plans under the Affordable Care Act.
Since Trump took office earlier this year, Senate Democrats have staged several marathon speeches to protest his actions.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press.