Senate Republicans will do "anything and everything we can," including a filibuster, to prevent the voting rights bill from passing, Sen. Mike Lee tells Newsmax.
"This is horrible," the Utah Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America."
"There are about 15 massive policy problems coupled with about 15 massive constitutional problems. We can't take any chances with this thing. This represents an existential threat to our ability as a country to operate as we were designed constitutionally."
The biggest issue with the "For the People Act" is it actually does not make it easier for the people to vote, said Lee.
"It just makes it easier to vote illegally and it makes it harder for states to detect and stop voter fraud," said Lee. "It would result in a massive infusion of taxpayer funding into political campaigns, which no American wants."
Republicans have slammed the bill as a Washington takeover of how U.S elections are held, and Lee said blaming the matter on the pandemic is a usual tactic.
"Like all people trying to bring about a major socialist upheaval, they're arguing that there's some sort of an emergency and they're arguing that in light of what Georgia did to Georgia's election laws and other states are doing to their election laws," said Lee. "There's this massive new need to federalize all election laws."
But the proposal for federal guides on the election "long predates 2021," said Lee. "This is their effort to claim that there is a problem so they can consolidate all power, but what we know about the consolidation of power is that that just makes it a lot easier for people to manipulate a system and that's what it would do here."
Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is likely a no vote for the bill, but Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who has also called to end the filibuster, will likely vote for cloture for the motion to proceed with the measure, said Lee.
Assuming that fails, of course, "I don't expect her to do anything," he said. "It would amount to nuking the filibuster."
Lee, who is seeking reelection next year, also said people in his state are extremely worried about inflation that has come about because of "this massive influx of federal government activity in their lives" and massive government spending.
"We're essentially just printing more money and that's affecting people's day-to-day lives, from small business owners to business owners of every size, for that matter," said Lee. "I'm hearing that people are having a hard time hiring employees, impart because the federal government has crowded out so much of the space in this area through these infusions and through the temporary unemployment insurance benefit associated with COVID."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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