A hot microphone caught Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) coordinating which way members of the “Gang of Eight” who serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee would vote on immigration bill amendments, Breitbart News has learned.
“Do our Republicans have a pass on this one if they want?” the microphone caught Schumer saying.
The hot mic remarks came during the Judiciary Committee markup on Monday, when Schumer was talking to his staff while senators were voting on an amendment that would prevent illegal immigrants from gaining access to public benefits, specifically the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
The amendment, offered by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), would have barred illegal immigrants from accessing tax credits like the EITC under the bill until they received green cards or citizenship years from now.
The amendment failed along party lines. For one of the first times ever, though, Gang of Eight members Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) joined their Republican colleagues in voting for the amendment. All the Democrats voted against it.
The National Journal recently reported that the Gang of Eight members have coordinated in secret to keep amendments that would strengthen the bill from passing. Sessions expressed outrage at that report, saying that “[o]ne of the things that most upsets the American people about Washington is drafting a bill with special interests in secret and jamming it across the finish line in a way that minimizes public involvement and input. Despite touting their legislation as ‘the toughest border enforcement in history,’ the Gang of Eight bill failed to live up to every major promise of its sponsors–including the promise of enforcement first–resulting in a bill that is even weaker than the rejected 2007 plan. This legislation needs improvement and openness.”
Watch the video below:
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