US Senator Whitehouse under fire for missing vote to rebuke Trump's tariff policy
:
The only two senators who did not vote were Whitehouse, a Democrat, and Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. Similar to bills,
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A spokesperson for Whitehouse did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday morning.
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At the time of the vote, Whitehouse was heading back to the United States after attending the 'Our Ocean Conference' in South Korea, according to
Headed back from the 10th Our Ocean Conference, where I was the sole US official.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse)
Since 2014, thousands of global leaders have met at the conference
But Whitehouse, in one
'USA AWOL,' he wrote.
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Circled is the entire U.S. delegation to this global oceans summit, founded by the United States, usually attended by a dozen or more senior U.S. officials. USA AWOL.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse)
Commenters online, however, saw some irony in the senator's remarks.
'YOU were AWOL and sank a bill we needed,'
Another, @overwurked,
'It would not have passed the House and it would have been vetoed but still, I am disappointed in Senator Whitehouse,' the user
Wednesday's vote arrived weeks after the Senate approved a resolution that would have blocked Trump's ability to impose tariffs on Canada.
Democrats intended the latest resolution as a means to try to place a check on Trump and to get Republicans on the record about the president's
Related
:
'The Senate cannot be an idle spectator in the tariff madness,' said Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, a lead sponsor of the resolution.
Co-sponsors of the resolution included Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Peter Welch of Vermont, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky also co-sponsored the measure.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at
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