House Democrats erupted into chants of “USA” for about 30 seconds Thursday on the House floor after a top Democrat gave a spirited speech condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin for his country’s interference in the last U.S. election.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called on lawmakers to stop giving into Putin by committing more funding to election security.
“This amendment responds by providing for us to partner with our states to slam the door in the face of the Russian bear or any other adversary who seeks to steal the integrity of our elections,” Hoyer said.
“Surely, we can rise above pandering to party and Putin to act on behalf of our freedom and our security. We have sworn an oath to defend our Constitution and our liberty against all enemies foreign and domestic,” he continued.
Hoyer kept speaking over bangs of the gavel to return the House to order. Once finished, Democrats applauded Hoyer’s remarks and began chanting “USA! USA! USA!”
[Opinion: The Russians, or someone else, could really hack the 2018 midterm elections]
.@WhipHoyer on motion to recommit to spending bill for more election security funds: “Surely we can rise above pandering to party and Putin to act on behalf of our freedom and our security.”
House Democrats chant USA on House floor.
Full video: https://t.co/eEHcDya1qy pic.twitter.com/PkRzNStQkg
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 19, 2018
House Republicans shot down a push from Democrats for more funding for election security minutes before Hoyer’s speech.
