Progressive advocacy group MoveOn is calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to deny committee seats to Sens. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and other Republicans who attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and incited the violent siege of the U.S. Capitol Building earlier this month.
"Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, and their allies in the Senate must be held accountable for their attacks on our democracy."
"Elected officials like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and other senators who sought to use their power to promote the big lie to overturn the results of the 2020 election—and who incited a deadly insurrection—have no place in the U.S. Senate and most certainly should not be rewarded for their deadly attacks on democracy with seats leading important committees in the next Congress," Rahna Epting, MoveOn's executive director, said in a statement late Thursday.
"Senate Majority Leader Schumer must work to ensure that any power-sharing agreement with Mitch McConnell keeps these insurrectionist senators from committee positions where they can use their influence to further undermine our democracy," Epting continued. "Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, and their allies in the Senate must be held accountable for their attacks on our democracy."
Schumer and McConnell have yet to reach an agreement on so-called organizing resolution that establishes the rules and committee assignments of the new session. As Common Dreams reported Friday, the Kentucky Republican is holding up the measure in an effort to preserve the legislative filibuster, an archaic 60-vote rule that progressives are urging Democrats to eliminate.
We are calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to deny committee seats to Sen. Josh Hawley, Sen. Ted Cruz, and other Senators who voted against the 2020 election results. Our Statement: pic.twitter.com/vTzLr5wrVZ — MoveOn (@MoveOn) January 22, 2021
MoveOn's demand came amid growing calls for the immediate resignation or expulsion of Cruz and Hawley, the most prominent Republican senators to vote against the certification of Biden's Electoral College victory earlier this month. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the number three Democrat in the Senate, is among those who have demanded that Cruz and Hawley step aside for inciting the January 6 invasion of the halls of Congress.
"Any senator who stands up and supports the power of force over the power of democracy has broken their oath of office," Murray said in a statement two days after the attack. "Senators Hawley and Cruz should resign."
On Thursday, as Common Dreams reported, a group of Senate Democrats demanded that the Ethics Committee launch a "thorough and fair investigation" into Cruz and Hawley and "consider any appropriate consequences."
"Cruz and Hawley continued to amplify the claims of fraud that they likely knew to be baseless and that had led to violence earlier that day," reads the Democrats' ethics complaint against their GOP colleagues. "Violent action provoked by false fraud claims remains a persistent threat."
Emotional-Quit-438 on January 22nd, 2021 at 13:01 UTC »
I believe there’s a question on security clearances that ask something like “ are you or have you ever been a part of any organization that would attempt to overthrow our government.” If it’s still there then these seditious senators must be removed from office.
scanaran on January 22nd, 2021 at 12:43 UTC »
It shouldn't even have to get that far. These two traitors should be removed from their seats.
They did not defend the constitution. They crumpled it up, doused it in gas, lit it on fire and blamed everyone else.
Shame on them and any elected official who broke their oath to America.
kids-cake-and-crazy on January 22nd, 2021 at 12:37 UTC »
Any politicians involved in the capital attack who knew about it and encouraged it, or funded it, needs to be punished and banned forever from any position in politics. All those who were involved in the actual attack should get arrested, luckily they're already working on that part.