Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor just minutes ago, said he will join House Republicans in supporting a moratorium on earmarks. McConnell had initially been hesitant to embrace the idea.
Earlier today on Capitol Hill, Sen. Jim DeMint, who has spearheaded efforts to ban earmarks in the Senate, spoke at a “November Speaks” rally hosted by Americans for Prosperity and urged his Senate colleagues to listen to the will of the people and support an earmark moratorium in a vote tomorrow.
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“If Senate Republicans fail to pass a ban on earmarks tomorrow, obviously they have not gotten the message,” DeMint said. “I’m optimistic that they have.”
McConnell’s change of heart is a huge win for DeMint and his allies, and leaves those opposed to a ban, such as Sen. James Inhofe (R., Okla.), uncomfortably isolated.