Bipartisan legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller now lies in the hands of US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after the US Republican-led Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday voted to advance it.
McConnell has said that the bill is unnecessary and that he would not let it reach the Senate floor.
However, the chairman of the committee added to the pressure on McConnell by voting for the measure, saying that McConnell should change his mind.
“While my constitutional concerns remain, I believe this bill should be considered by the full Senate,” Republican US Senator Chuck Grassley said.
Republicans have been split on the issue amid US President Donald Trump’s repeated criticism of Mueller’s Russia investigation. That break was apparent on Thursday as four Republicans joined Democrats in the 14-7 vote to pass the legislation from committee.
For now, the move is largely symbolic, but it highlighted the complexity of Republican support for Trump when it comes to the president’s attacks on Mueller.
Nearly all Republican senators have said Trump should not fire Mueller.
However, Republicans who support the legislation have said it is necessary to guard against presidential interference by giving US Congress more oversight power.
Two Republicans and two Democrats introduced the bill earlier this month as Trump ramped up criticism of Mueller, who is investigating potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, as well as possible obstruction of justice by the president.
Trump on Thursday appeared to suggest that he has no intention of trying to fire Mueller, for now.
However, he left open the possibility he could change his mind.
The legislation would give any special counsel a 10-day window to seek expedited judicial review of a firing and would put into law existing US Department of Justice regulations that a special counsel can only be fired for good cause.
The four senators who wrote the legislation — Republicans Thom Tillis and Lindsey Graham, and Democrats Chris Coons and Cory Booker — hoped committee approval would give them more time to find enough support in the full Senate.
After the vote, the committee’s top Democrat stepped up that effort.
“The American people must know the truth, and this bill should now be brought before the full Senate for debate and a vote,” Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement.
With most Democrats on board, the bipartisan group had worked this week to gather additional Republican votes. That included negotiating with Grassley, who floated an amendment that included increased reporting to Congress by the special counsel.
Democrats initially opposed the amendment, saying that it could undermine the investigation if the special counsel had to reveal too much to Congress during the investigation.
However, the two sides reached a compromise.
The revised amendment would require that notification after the investigation was done, along with a report detailing the investigation’s findings and explanations of any charges.
It would also require notification if a special counsel were removed.
Republicans who supported the bill could be at risk of angering Trump and some of his supporters they represent. Grassley, Graham, Tillis and Senator Jeff Flake joined Democrats to advance the bill.
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