Senator Elizabeth Warren says that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to speak to her since a controversial incident between the two Senators occurred earlier this year.
In February, McConnell used an obscure rule to silence the progressive Senator on the floor. Warren was reading a 1986 letter from Coretta Scott King at the confirmation hearing for Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions when McConnell used the rule to silence her for the remainder of the hearing.
The rule barred Senators from making critical comments regarding the personal character of fellow elected officials, and McConnell argued that the contents of the important letter did just that.
Unfortunately for McConnell, silencing Warren for a day backfired tremendously, and the comments the Senate made in excusing their silencing of the Senator became a rallying cry, “Nevertheless, she persisted.”
Since his thwarted attempt at shaming the vocal Senator, McConnell has reportedly not spoken to Warren, even to say hello.
In an interview with the Boston Globe, Warren says that she frequently tries to say hello to McConnell, but that he refuses to acknowledge her existence.
“I’ve spoken to him, but he has not spoken to me. I say hello to Mitch every chance I get, and he turns his head.”
When asked, Warren said that she couldn’t directly attribute her treatment by the Majority Leader to sexism, but that the day after she was silenced in the Senate, four male senators including Senator Bernie Sanders read the same letter, all being allowed to finish their remarks unhindered by McConnell.
Senator Warren no doubt faces significant obstacles in the Republican-majority Senate. Her consistent refusal to back down on important issues means that she is often a thorn in the side of the Republican party – a service that we all owe her for.
