Screenshot/ C-Span
Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) reads Coretta Scott King's letter aloud on the Senate floor.
Senator Tom Udall, a Democrat from New Mexico, read Coretta Scott King's letter aloud on the Senate floor on Wednesday morning after Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts was stopped in the middle of doing so on Tuesday night.
"I entered Coretta Scott King's letter about #Sessions into the Senate record and read it from the floor-her words should not be silenced," Udall tweeted on Wednesday morning.
Both Warren and Udall were speaking out against the confirmation of Alabama Republican senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general.
King's letter was written in 1986 in opposition to Sessions' appointment as a federal judge in Alabama. In the letter, King criticized Sessions' record on voting rights, noting that the "Voting Rights Act was, and still is, vitally important to the future of democracy in the United States."
"The irony of Mr. Sessions' nomination is that, if confirmed, he will be given life tenure for doing with a federal prosecution what the local sheriffs accomplished twenty years ago with clubs and cattle prods," King continued.
As Warren read the letter on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked Senate Rule 19, which forbids senators from suggesting another senator is guilty of "any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator."
"When Mr. Sessions served as US Attorney, his record on voting rights-the backbone of our democracy-was subject to serious question," Udall tweeted.
Sessions is likely to be confirmed as attorney general on Wednesday afternoon, though Democrats have expressed strong opposition.
Here's Udall's tweets from Wednesday morning:
I entered Coretta Scott King's letter abt #Sessions into the Senate record and read it from the floor-her words should not be silenced.
- Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017When Mr. Sessions served as US Attorney, his record on voting rights-the backbone of our democracy-was subject to serious question.
- Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017In the context of this confirmation hearing, Senator Sessions' record on civil rights must be included in the debate #LetLizSpeak
- Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017The AG is our nation's chief law enforcement officer-with enormous power to either advance or roll back our constitutional protections.
- Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017I read Mrs. King's letter about Mr. #Sessions' commitment to justice for all. I leave it to my colleagues to assess that commitment.
- Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017.@SenateMajLdr tried to silence Corretta Scott King's letter abt #Sessions' civil rights record. We're making sure she is heard #LetHerSpeak
- Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017I fully understand the importance of Rule XIX-but Mrs. King's words and Sen Warren's voice should not be silenced. #LetLizSpeak
- Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017