“Her word is meaningless. She'll say anything to get elected,” Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) said Tuesday, posting a letter she signed defending the Senate filibuster – when a Republican was president.
Today, the Democrat vice president is calling for the elimination of the filibuster so that her party can pass a bill codifying through federal law the legality of abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court decision turning the matter over to the individual states.
However, an April 7, 2017 letter signed by then-senator Harris shows the vice president defended the filibuster (when Republican Donald Trump was president), Sen. Cotton (R-AK) notes in a social media post:
“Kamala wants to abolish the filibuster, but here's the letter she signed as Senator pledging to support the filibuster to ensure the Senate ‘continues to serve as the world's greatest deliberative body.’
“Her word is meaningless.
“She'll say anything to get elected.”
Cotton’s post provides a copy of the letter sent to then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in the wake of the fierce fight in the Senate over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Harris was one of a bipartisan group of 61 senators who signed the letter, expressing agreement on the importance of protecting the filibuster:
“Senators have expressed a variety of opinions about the appropriateness of limiting debate when we are considering judicial and executive branch nominations.
“Regardless of our past disagreements on that issue, we are united in our determination to preserve the ability of Members to engage in extended debate when bills are on the Senate floor.”
…
“[W]e are asking you to join us in opposing any effort to curtain the existing rights and prerogatives of Senators to engage in full, robust, and extended debate as we consider legislation before this body in the future.”
Two years later, in a “Pod Save America” interview posted on April 17, 2019, Harris said she had “practical concerns” about eliminating the filibuster – because without it Republicans “would have run roughshod over Planned Parenthood” and abortion. What’s more, the changes to it would have enabled Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Harris said:
Host: “What’s more important: the institutions of the Senate and keeping the filibuster or ‘I just gotta get some stuff done’?”
Sen. Kamala Harris: “So, I am open to the discussions. But, I would suggest that, in addition to the concern about keeping the tradition of the institution, there is a practical concern that I have, which is:
“Were it not in place, they probably would have run roughshod over Planned Parenthood and all that we need around women’s access to reproductive health and choice.
“Were it in place - this approach that is being advocated - we probably would have lost the Affordable Care Act.
“So, those are my concerns, while fully recognizing the obstacles that filibuster also presents.”
🚨Kamala wants to abolish the filibuster, but here's the letter she signed as Senator pledging to support the filibuster to ensure the Senate "continues to serve as the world's greatest deliberative body."
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) September 24, 2024
Her word is meaningless.
She'll say anything to get elected. pic.twitter.com/XzDY4ZfJ8S