On Tuesday night, Senator Elizabeth Warren made an attempt to read a letter by Coretta Scott King, which highlighted the wrongdoings of Sen. Jeff Sessions,who currently holds the nomination for U.S. attorney general.
The letter, which was written in 1986 by the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., had urged the Senate to reject the nomination of Jeff Sessions to a federal judgeship 30 years ago. But Warren was unable to fully deliver the letter this time around when she was silenced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell stated, "She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted."
It didn't take long for McConnell's controversial quote to trend on Twitter with the hashtag, #ShePersisted. What started as a criticism of his colleague ended up becoming a great choice for a campaign slogan, and a way to highlight other women who "persisted" through history.
McConnell justified his actions towards Warren under the senate Rule XIX, which said: "No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator." King's letter argued that, during Sessions' time as a prosecutor in Alabama, he "used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens."
After Warren was told that she could not read the letter on the floor, the senator went outside of room and posted a video of herself reading and finishing the letter on Facebook. Since the video was posted, it has has gained nearly 7 million views.
As the senate continues to consider Sessions for the nomination for U.S. attorney general, Warren is now banned from speaking on the Senate floor. But users on Twitter are using their words to fight back against McConnell and the senate hoping to influence change through the #ShePersisted tag.
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