Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) began shouting when he was asked to yield in the middle of giving a speech about renewable energy on the Senate floor on Thursday afternoon.
“I hope the next time I get a chance to have the floor, I won’t be interrupted!” Grassley said.
But it turns out Grassley was interrupted for an important reason. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the floor to announce that President Donald Trump plans to sign a bipartisan border security bill that will keep the government open, but will also declare a national emergency in hopes of bypassing Congress to get more money for his border wall.
Chuck Grassley gets extremely angry & starts yelling when he's asked to yield the Senate floor in the middle of his speech. @senatemajldr McConnell then announces that Trump plans to sign the government funding bill and declare a national emergency at the same time. pic.twitter.com/7r3wNJzwAM
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 14, 2019
Though you can’t hear it on the video, Grassley reportedly told McConnell, “You’re rude. You’re just simply rude.” But within minutes McConnell apologized and the two shook hands.
UPDATE: grassley and McConnell just laughed and shook hands. McConnell said I’m sorry.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 14, 2019
McConnell reportedly privately counseled Trump against declaring a national emergency a few weeks back, but he announced on Thursday that he’s “going to support the national emergency declaration.”
Trump made clear earlier this week that he’s not happy about the fact that the border security deal only allocates $1.375 billion for border barriers. But an emergency declaration is sure to face legal challenges, and Trump has done himself no favors by publicly admitting his deliberations about whether to declare one hinged on politics, not conditions at the southern border.
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