Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a move by Democrats to force a vote on a bill that would require campaigns and candidates to report to the FBI any foreign offers of opposition research.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., asked for unanimous consent to bring up the bill, which requires all 100 senators to agree.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on behalf of the GOP leadership, objected.
“Today is a new low,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.
Schumer urged the GOP to “rethink this” and warned Democrats plan to bring up the request again.
The move comes a day after Trump told ABC News he would accept “dirt” on an opposing candidate from a foreign government and would not necessarily report it to the FBI.
The Mueller investigation into Russian collusion with the 2016 Trump campaign found Russians intervened in the election to help Trump win. Mueller did not accuse Trump of colluding with the Russians.
Democrats accused Trump of threatening the security of the next election by declaring in the ABC News interview he is open to foreign opposition research.
“We ought to make clear that if any foreign power tries to intervene again in an election, the least we can do is ask for a requirement to report it to law enforcement,” Warner said.
Some Republicans said the legislation might interfere with the need for them to maintain foreign contacts in the course of their congressional duties.
“If there are ways to improve this legislation to reach an agreement, I am wide open to changes to make it better,” Warner said.
