Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (Photo from Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith on Facebook)
- A vote against a Democrat-backed amendment on a resolution that was ruled procedurally defective in the Senate Rules Committee has drawn scrutiny from the Mississippi Senator’s challengers.
Opponents of Mississippi U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) are attempting to use a committee vote on a proposed amendment that was ruled to be not germane to the measure at hand as fodder on the campaign trail.
The U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee met in December to consider S. Res. 526, a resolution meant to withhold the pay of Senators if a government shutdown occurs. It was authored by Louisiana Senator John Kennedy (R).
The committee holds a 9 to 8 Republican to Democrat majority and is chaired by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (R).
During the committee meeting, two Democrat Senators offered amendments to the resolution, both of which were tabled by straight party line votes as they were not germane to the measure under consideration.
Such “show votes” are common as members of one party attempt to pigeonhole those in the opposite party on an issue to “put them on record.” These votes are then often shared without nuance and context.
One of those Democrat-backed “show votes” is now being used against Senator Hyde-Smith by both the Republican primary challenger and the leading Democratic candidate seeking to unseat her in this year’s midterm election.
Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff (D) sought to add an amendment to Kennedy’s resolution that would ban stock trading by members of Congress.
Similar standalone bills have been filed over the years by members of both parties but an actual floor vote on the issue has not been taken to date in the Senate. Ossoff even has his own standalone bill on the matter this Congress that is awaiting consideration in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs which has jurisdiction on the matter.
McConnell as chair determined Ossoff’s amendment to be procedurally defective under the committee’s rules. Ossoff appealed the chair’s ruling and Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer (R) motioned to table the amendment. Ossoff then asked for a recorded vote, which resulted in a 9-8 vote to table under the committee rule.
Notably, both of Mississippi’s Senators – Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker (R) – sit on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. They were among the 9 Republicans to vote to table Ossoff’s amendment, which also included McConnell, Fischer, Ted Cruz of Texas, Katie Britt of Alabama, Shelley Capito of West Virginia, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and John Boozman of Arkansas.
A day after the committee vote, Democrat Senator candidate Scott Colom used the procedural vote to attack Hyde-Smith, sending out a press release with a statement saying she “voted to let politicians like herself enrich themselves.”
“No politician should be able to go to DC and get rich off of public service, but millionaire Cindy Hyde-Smith cares more about the stock portfolios of some of the most powerful people in the country than she does about affordable health care for Mississippians,” Colom said in a statement. “Once again Cindy Hyde-Smith is proving that she is putting herself and wealthy politicians first – and Mississippi last.”
A handful of Mississippi media outlets picked up Colom’s release and shared the Democrat’s campaign narrative with headlines like “Sen. Hyde-Smith blocks bid to ban stock trading in Congress” from WJTV.
Now, Hyde-Smith’s Republican Primary challenger, Sarah Adlakha, is joining Colom in using the committee vote to attack the incumbent Senator ahead of the March 10 election.
On Thursday, in a release aimed at drawing distinctions between the two on a variety of topics, Adlakha said Hyde-Smith “blocked the insider trading ban in committee,” phrasing that mirrors the media headlines based on Colom’s comments over a month ago.
“On anti-corruption, she has consistently stood with the system—not with voters,” Adlakha said in a statement, attempting to frame the race as a choice between “entrenched political interests and citizen-led reform.”
READ MORE: Adlakha selling herself as an outsider. Hyde-Smith’s campaign says welcome to Mississippi
Christopher Gallegos, communications director for Senator Hyde-Smith, told Magnolia Tribune Thursday “every Republican on the Rules Committee voted against the amendment because it was nongermane.”
“It was not a vote on blocking members from participating in the capitalistic stock market with existing financial disclosure requirements,” Gallegos said. “Rather than talking about a political showboat vote, Democrats should be forced to explain their willingness to accept their paychecks while inflicting the longest federal government shutdown in history on the American people.”
The Senate committee ultimately approved Kennedy’s resolution to withhold the pay of Senators if a government shutdown occurs by a voice vote. The resolution was then placed on the Senate legislative calendar. However, it still awaits further action and has not been taken up on the floor.
You can watch the full Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing from December here.
