In the 24 hours since former special counsel Robert Mueller warned of future election interference in his congressional testimony, Senate Republicans have blocked a collection of election security bills and a cybersecurity measure.
The latest: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday blocked Democrats from pushing forward a House-passed bill to authorize $775 million in state funding over the next 2 years to bolster voting system security, CNN reports.
Why it matters: Mueller testified on the Hill Wednesday that “many more countries are developing capabilities to replicate” what the Russians did in 2016. “They are doing it as we sit here, and they expect to do it during the next campaign,” he said. Per New York Magazine, there’s concern that if the law’s not updated, it could leave the U.S. open to further interference.
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The other side: According to CNN, the GOP says that Congress has already improved security for the upcoming election. Already, U.S. law forbids campaigns from accepting or soliciting foreign assistance. However, the U.S. government does not enforce reporting mandates on campaigns nor candidates, according to Newsweek. Republicans have also warned of attempts to “federalize” elections, The Hill notes.
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Mitch McConnell has blocked Democrats from advancing a House-passed bill to authorize $775 million in state election security funding, just a day after Robert Mueller warned of future election interference. https://t.co/K10eTuQ4E2
— Axios (@axios) July 25, 2019
Why bother voting? We are now officially a Banana Republic.
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