Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer received a warning from the chamber’s presiding chair after sharply criticizing Republican lawmakers. He accused them of backing a bill that he claimed would severely “devastate” their own states and that they lacked the “backbone to speak the truth” about the negative impact the legislation would have on their constituents.“Our colleagues on the Republican side lack the courage of their convictions to do the right thing for the American people. It’s outrageous,” Schumer said.The Senate democratic leader was addressing the floor just before the scheduled vote-a-rama, a marathon session of unlimited amendment votes on President Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” The process would conclude with a final vote on the bill’s passage. Schumer added that Senator Thom Tillis, who had cautioned that the bill would severely impact his state by slashing nearly $40 billion in federal Medicaid funding for North Carolina, is “one of the few truth-tellers” among Republicans.“Republicans are doing something that has never been done before in the Senate by deploying fake math and budgetary hocus-pocus to make it seem like their billionaire giveaways don’t cost anything,” the Democratic leader said.At that moment, Senator Bernie Moreno, who was serving as the Senate’s presiding officer, interrupted Schumer to remind him of Rule 19, which prohibits senators from attributing improper or dishonorable behavior or motives to one another.The rule also instructs senators to refrain from making offensive remarks about any US state.
