Sen. Ron Johnson Forces Senate Clerks to Spend 11 Hours Reading Out 628-Page COVID Bill
‘I FEEL BAD’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Johnson of going to “ridiculous lengths” to show his opposition to the stimulus package with 11-hour reading.
Spare a thought for the clerks of the Senate today, who were at work until 2:04 a.m. Friday morning pointlessly reading out all 628 pages of the coronavirus stimulus bill at the behest of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). The GOP senator brought proceedings to a halt earlier Thursday by demanding that clerks read the 100,000-word plan aloud in an apparent attempt to theatrically register his objections to the bill and delay the Senate debate on it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accused Johnson of going to “ridiculous lengths” to show his opposition to the package, saying: “It will accomplish little more than a few sore throats for the Senate clerks who work very hard day in, day out to help the Senate function.” Johnson defended his move, saying: “I feel bad for the clerks that are going to have to read it, but it’s just important.” According to Axios, it took the clerks nearly 11 hours to finish reading out the bill.
