The Senate failed to get enough votes to open debate on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s radical Green New Deal.
Legislators voted 0-57 on taking up the non-binding resolution, failing to reach the 60 votes necessary to open debate.
Most Democrats voted present, enabling them to avoid taking a formal stance on the measure. Democrats Joe Manchin (WV), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Doug Jones (AL) and Angus King (I-ME) voted with Republicans against debating the Green New Deal.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) established the vote as a way to force Democrats–including many 2020 presidential candidates–to go on the record about the resolution.
Prior to the vote, he tweeted, “Later today, the American people will see which of their senators can do the common-sense thing and vote “no” on this destructive socialist daydream.”
He also slammed the Green New Deal for killing off jobs and energy.
“The Green New Deal, my Democratic colleagues’ rallying cry: Killing off entire domestic industries,” he tweeted. “Winding down millions of jobs. Basically outlawing the only sources of energy that working-class and middle-class families can actually afford.”
Later today, the American people will see which of their senators can do the common-sense thing and vote “no” on this destructive socialist daydream.
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) March 26, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez slammed McConnell’s plan for the vote, claiming the Senator “doesn’t want to save our planet.”
“What McConnell’s doing is that he’s trying to rush this bill to the floor without a hearing… without working through committee — because he doesn’t want to save our planet,” she said. “Because he thinks we can drink oil in 30 years when all our water is poisoned.”
