Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., pressured Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to bring the criminal justice reform bill known as the First Step Act to a vote, urging those from McConnell’s hometown to contact him and request the Senate vote on the measure.
“I will tell you that we need the help of one person. The one person who had the power to allow this vote — and I’m not saying he’s stopping it — but there is one person,” Paul said of McConnell at the Louisville Urban League Monday. “He’s from Louisville, he’s fairly well known, and he has the power to allow or disallow this vote.”
McConnell previously said he would not bring any criminal justice reform measure to a vote unless it was backed by 60 or more senators, but Paul is certain the measure will pass “overwhelmingly.”
“There’s no reason we shouldn’t vote. So I would say if you’re in Louisville, call and say, ‘Sen. McConnell, all we want is a vote.’ It will pass overwhelmingly,” Paul said.
The First Step Act passed the House in May and was first unveiled in the Senate in November. The bipartisan measure, which has 31 cosponsors hailing from both sides of the aisle in the Senate, includes provisions to reduce prison sentences, among other reforms.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate remain torn on the legislation, which faces staunch opposition from figures such as Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
But McConnell is facing pressure to address the legislation from President Trump, who weighed in on the matter last week as he urged McConnell to “go for it” and bring the legislation to a vote.
“Hopefully Mitch McConnell will ask for a VOTE on Criminal Justice Reform,” Trump tweeted Friday. “It is extremely popular and has strong bipartisan support. It will also help a lot of people, save taxpayer dollars, and keep our communities safe. Go for it Mitch!”
