Rubio blocks defense bill vote over China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims

Sen. Marco Rubio blocked a Democratic-led deal for votes on amendments to a massive, annually passed Senate defense bill, quashing hopes the legislation may pass this week.

Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, attempted to bring 24 amendments to the National Defense Authorization (NDAA) bill to the floor, a move which would have allowed lawmakers to vote on passing the defense bill as part of the agreement worked out by bipartisan leadership, The Hill reported.

Rubio blocked the amendment deal however, in a move some Democrats say is retaliatory after his proposal to ban imports from China’s Xinjiang region was blocked from being included in the package that would get support before a final vote in the Senate.

Xinjiang has made recent headlines as Xi Jinping’s regime stands accused of carrying out genocide against Uyghur Muslims in the region.

Although Rubio’s amendment was included in a list sent to Senate offices on Wednesday, it wasn’t among the amendments to be voted on when Reed asked the floor for consent to set up the amendment votes.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer responded to Rubio's objection as "sad, tragic and almost absurd… If his amendment were on the bill it would automatically kill the bill." He also called the amendment a "poison pill." 

Democrats have long warned that Rubio's amendment would kill the House legislation, suggesting it violates Article 1, Section 7, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which states that bills that raise revenue must originate in the House. 

Reed added that including Rubio's proposal "would put at risk the entire National Defense Authorization Act” because of the Senate’s blue-slip objection procedure.

Rubio counter-accused the House of relying on procedural technicalities because they don’t support his proposal, which previously passed in the Senate.

"They can basically use it on virtually anything. They can just apply it to anything they don't like," Rubio said. "This is really not about revenue generating… This is about the fact that they don't want this to pass over in the House," he added.

The roadblock on Wednesday night is the latest setback for the defense bill, which traditionally passes with wide bipartisan support.

Senate leadership attempted to bring 18 amendments to a vote before the Thanksgiving recess, but their attempts were thwarted by Republicans whose amendments weren’t included.

The defense bill was blocked again on Monday night after Republicans argued that Schumer hadn’t given them the sufficient number of amendment votes. On Tuesday, leadership offered a deal which included 21 amendments, but Sen. John Kennedy told reporters on Wednesday morning that at least three Republicans would object to the deal.

Schumer urged his Republican colleagues to bring Rubio back to the table, but admitted the chances of reaching an agreement by Thursday morning were “slim.”

"It makes no sense. No sense whatsoever. I would ask Marco Rubio to sleep on this overnight," Schumer said. 

"How does it help Senator Rubio's goal with the Uyghurs by preventing anything from moving forward unless his proposal gets in the bill, which would destroy the bill? That's the absurd place we are in tonight. It is regrettable. It is sad... and it speaks to the need to restore the Senate and change the rules," he added.