Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images
McConnell and Republican objectors said that Warren violated Senate rules. The rule, No. 19, says senators cannot “directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.”
The Senate voted along partisan lines, 49-43, to admonish Warren, effectively barring her from speaking during the remaining debate on Sessions, R-Alabama.
“She has been warned multiple times (not just today),” McConnell spokesman Don Stewart told NBC News. “And after additional warning today, she was found in violation of the rule. She appealed the ruling and lost.”
Democrats stood to defend Warren, creating a hashtag on Twitter:
Since Warren was blocked from continuing her speech, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, tweeted excerpts of the letter to which Republicans objected.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Warren’s actions had no place in the Senate.
“Even if what she said was true, it wasn’t the right thing to do,” Hatch said. “I’ve been appalled at the way Democrats have treated Jeff Sessions.”
