The final result of the vote was 47 to 47. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer shifted his “yes” vote to a “no” vote at the end in a procedural move in order to return to present the bill in the future if you will.
At least 10 Republicans in the Senate would have to vote with Democrats to exceed the 60-vote threshold imposed by the filibuster.
The failure of the Senate Terrorism Bill in the Senate once again underscores the challenge for lawmakers to enact any major political change in the wake of the mass shootings amid a highly polarized political environment and widespread opposition from the GOP to stricter gun controls.
Only one Republican – Illinois MP Adam Kinzinger – voted in favor of the measure when the Democratic-led House approved it after the Buffalo supermarket shooting. The Justice Department is investigating the shooting as a hate crime and “an act of racially violent extremism.” Texas Elementary School before being killed by law enforcement officials, officials said.
Elementary school shootout has sparked passionate calls from Democrats for legislation to counter gun violence and has renewed a debate over gun control on Capitol Hill, but it seems unlikely to break partisan stalemate long-lasting and deeply rooted in gun control.
The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022 would establish offices focused specifically on domestic terrorism in the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the FBI.
The offices would track and analyze national terrorist activity with the goal of better preparing the federal government to identify risks and take preventative measures.
The bill creates a requirement for biannual reports on threats of national terrorism. It also calls for assessments of the threat specifically posed by white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune, who represents South Dakota, said Wednesday that it is “unlikely” that 10 Republicans will vote to advance the House-approved domestic terrorism bill because, he said, the White House and the House Department of Justice have indicated that they already have the authorities legislated in the bill.
“There are a lot of things they already have authority to do,” Thune said, providing the first formal confirmation from a GOP leader that the bill, which is a priority for Democrats, will not pass in the Senate.
Before the vote on Thursday morning, Schumer asked the Senate to accept the bill passed by the House, but acknowledged that it was unlikely to move forward amid Republican opposition.
“Today, the Senate will have the opportunity to act on a pernicious issue that has recently become an increasingly prevalent component of the epidemic of armed violence in the United States: the widespread spread of white supremacy and terrorism. domestic, “he said.
But Schumer added, “I know the chances of getting 10 votes on this bill are small, unfortunately, given the influence of MAGA Republicans.” He continued: “There are many MAGA Republicans for whom no armed violence, whether domestic terrorism, school shooting, neighborhood shooting or anything else, will ever convince them to take any action.”
Schumer indicated that Democrats are willing to give time and space to efforts to reach some sort of bipartisan compromise on gun legislation, though he noted that the odds are long. He also made it clear that these efforts will not have unlimited time to develop and that if they fail, the Senate will move forward with votes on arms security legislation.
“We have to try everything. We don’t have to leave a stone unturned,” he said.
But he added, “It is not an invitation to negotiate indefinitely. Make no mistake, if these negotiations do not bear fruit in a short period of time, the Senate will vote on arms security legislation,” he said.
Senate Democrats took steps Tuesday night to put two background check bills passed by the House on the legislative calendar so they can be voted on. It is unclear, however, when the Senate could vote on the measures and not expect them to overcome a GOP obstruction.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky criticized the domestic terrorism bill in a speech Thursday before the vote.
“Today we have before us a bill that is ostensibly titled and ostensibly on the subject of internal terrorism. that insulting., “He said.
CNN’s Ted Barrett, Manu Raju, Ali Zaslav and Eric Levenson contributed.