On Tuesday evening, during the course of the debate about the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) for United States Attorney General, the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate at the time, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), admonished Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). He admonished her for a violation of Senate Rule 19 of the standing rules which does not allow a senator to impugn the character of another fellow senator.
Sen. Warren persisted in her line of attack against the Sessions nomination as U.S. Attorney and read from a letter written by the late widow of Dr.
Matrin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King. The New York Times wrote that Mrs. King’s letter was not flattering, writing that Sessions used the "awesome power of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters.”
McConnell instructed Warren to have a seat citing Rule 19
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed Sen. Warren some 30 minutes after Sen. Daines interrupted her. Sen. McConnell instructed her to sit down and a vote along party lines affirmed his ruling. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said that Sen. Warren was singled out simply because she is "effective." Others believe it was because she is a woman because other male Senators stood up and recited the same letter from Mrs.
King, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). He read Sanders the entire letter including the portion which got Warren in hot water and silenced on Tuesday night. Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Sherrod Brown of Ohio also read the letter and were not admonished. Both are male Senators.
There’s no Rule 19 to silence me from talking about Jeff Sessions anymore. So let me say loudly & clearly: This is just the beginning.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 9, 2017
Hillary Clinton also chimed in on the controversy
Later in the day, former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted McConnell's words: "She was warned.
She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted." She ended in saying, "So must we all."
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted."
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 8, 2017
So must we all.https://t.co/JXROGHPNkH
What really happened is that the actions by the GOP leadership in the U.S. Senate elevated Sen. Warren's status and handed her an expanded platform. The GOP made her a hero to the Democrats and from that mistake cannot reverse course. The 2020 presidential campaign may have just begun.
Consider this MY warning: We won’t be silent. We will speak out. And we WILL persist.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 9, 2017
