Ron Johnson threatens to hold up COVID stimulus vote with a muddled filibuster
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) revealed on a Milwaukee radio station that he's going to hold up the entire COVID-19 stimulus bill vote in the Senate, tweeted Lisa Desjardins from PBS NewsHour.
Speaking to WISN, Johnson pledged that for 10 hours, he intends to read the entire bill out loud before any debate or amendments can happen, as well as a vote.
"Johnson also says he will try to keep the COVID relief debate and vote-a-rama going through Sunday, trying to recruit 12 or 13 Republicans to be on the floor at all times for that effort," Desjardins tweeted. She explained that Johnson's hope is that his efforts will all take until Sunday.
Senate Minority Leader implied in a Fox News interview that the stimulus may not really even be needed. Reporter Chad Pergram cited McConnell saying that the bill is "wildly out of proportion to where the country stands today....It is a wildly out of proportion response to where the country is at the moment. The vaccines are going out. The economies are opening up."
The COVID-19 stimulus bill had 72 percent support among the American public when it was first announced.