Mitch McConnell kills resolution condemning use of tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters

On Tuesday, Axios reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has blocked a Senate resolution that would condemn the Trump White House's forcible removal of peaceful protesters.

"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked a resolution introduced by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday that would have condemned the use of tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful protesters outside the White House on Monday in order to allow President Trump to walk to St. John's Church," said the report.

"Justice for black Americans in the face of unjust violence, and peace for our country in the face of looting, riots, and domestic terror. Those are the two issues Americans want addressed," said McConnell on the Senate floor, explaining his decision. "Unfortunately, this resolution from my friend the Democratic leader does not address either one of them ... Outside of the Washington, D.C., bubble, there is no universe where Americans think Democrats' obsession with condemning President Trump is a more urgent priority than ending the riots or advancing racial justice."

Schumer's resolution would have affirmed the First Amendment rights of protesters, condemned violence and looting as unlawful, and rebuked Trump "for ordering federal officers to use gas and rubber bullets against the Americans who were peaceably protesting in Lafayette Square in Washington, DC on the night of June 1, 2020."

McConnell's move to kill the resolution comes hours after he was asked by reporters to address Trump's attacks on peaceful protesters, and replied, "I'm not going to critique other people's performances."