Elizabeth Warren blasts GOP's 'political gamesmanship' after Dems reportedly ditch COVID tests for key vote
Democrats reportedly eased coronavirus testing in order to muster up the most possible votes for the Inflation Reduction Act
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren dismissed reports that Democrats are foregoing coronavirus testing in order to allow the maximum number of senators to vote for the party's social spending and taxation bill on Saturday night.
"No. And oh, please," Warren said when asked if she was told not to test for COVID in order to participate in Saturday's "Vote-a-Rama." "The Republicans are concerned about Democrats showing up with COVID, the Republicans who wouldn't wear masks. The Republicans who wouldn't test, the Republicans who tested positive and still showed up. I'm telling you, they just know no limits on their political gamesmanship."
Warren's comments come amid rumblings that Democrats eased coronavirus testing in order to make sure all senators would be present to pass the Inflation Reduction Act as part of a marathon voting schedule set to take place throughout the night on Saturday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The reports have drawn criticism from Republicans on social media including from Congressman Thomas Massie.
REPUBLICANS PROMISE VOTE-A-RAMA 'HELL' AS MANCHIN, SINEMA ADVANCE DEM SOCIAL SPENDING AND TAX BILL
Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a town hall meeting at Grinnell College, Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, in Grinnell, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
"On the same day Biden tests positive for COVID he says he’s coming to Kentucky, while Senate democrats admit they’re not testing themselves for COVID, because they will come to work even if they’re COVID positive," Massie tweeted. "End the emergency declaration, the PREP Act, and all mandates!"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HOUSE REPUBLICANS PREP FIGHT AGAINST DEMS' SOCIAL SPENDING AND TAX BILL AS SENATE MOVES TO PASS
A vote to move ahead on Democrats' social spending and taxation bill passed Saturday evening, setting up floor debate followed by a marathon vote-a-rama, before a final vote on the legislation that's expected sometime Sunday.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) talks on the phone before the start of the Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., December 14, 2021. (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)
The vote total was 51-50, with Vice-President Kamala Harris breaking a tie.
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It was not expected that Harris would be needed, because several Republicans were out of town and missed votes that happened earlier Saturday. But all of the GOP members made it back to town by the end of the Saturday evening vote.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) gestures as he speaks to reporters in the Hart Senate Office building on August 01, 2022 in Washington, DC. Manchin, who returned to Capitol Hill after quarantining with Covid-19, spoke to reporters about the deal he reached with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
"What will vote-a-rama be like? It will be like hell," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a press conference Thursday. "They deserve this. As much as I admire Joe Manchin and Sinema for standing up to the radical left at times, they're empowering legislation that will make the average person's life more difficult."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Tyler Olsen contributed to this report