A Republican senator blocked a resolution Tuesday criticizing the decision to spend federal funds for television ads promoting President Donald Trump’s policies.
Democrats have expressed outrage at Trump’s decision to start airing the campaign-style ads this month, arguing that they are illegal. The White House has defended the ads, but some Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (South Dakota) — have said they do not think the federal government should be paying for them.
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) tried Tuesday to pass a resolution declaring that such ads “should not be paid for by the United States government.”
“Sadly, it takes strong bipartisan pushback, as well as the loud and clear voice of the American people, to get this administration to reverse course when it is breaking the law or doing something wrong,” Hassan said.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) blocked Hassan’s attempt to pass the resolution, arguing that past presidents from both parties — including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden — have aired public service announcements.
“When a Democratic president tells Americans what to do, it’s a public service,” Lummis said on the Senate floor. “When this president tells Americans that liberty is worth defending, it’s suddenly a problem.”
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