Republican Sen. Ron Johnson forces Senate to read all 628 pages of Bidens COVID bill aloud

WASHINGTON – Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., forced the Senate to begin reading all 628 pages of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID bill aloud on the Senate floor Thursday, further delaying a vote on the legislation Democrats hope to make law by next week.

Johnson said his tactic was about “educating” the American public on what was in the $1.9 trillion package, which he has derided as full of provisions unrelated to COVID relief. The entire process could take at least 10 hours.

He told reporters Thursday he felt badly for the Senate clerks who are going to “have to read it,” but it was “important” to delay the process and read the bill aloud because “so often we rush these massive bills” which few lawmakers have time to read.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Johnson's move would "accomplish little more than a few sore throats for the Senate clerks who work very hard day in, day out to help the Senate function."

And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters, "I'm not sitting here for reading the bill." His Republican colleague had "every right" to request the reading, but "I don't think it particularly moves the ball forward," Graham said, citing the later amendment process as a more productive use of time to showcase Republican disagreements with the legislation.

As the clerk began reading the bill Thursday afternoon, Johnson was the only Republican senator in the chamber. He sat watching the clerk, his blue face mask resting on his desk. 

Senators usually waive the reading of amendments or legislation in the Senate floor, but Johnson invoked a procedural step to force the reading of the full bill.

Other Republican senators have shown support for Johnson's move. Asked about Johnson’s plans, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told reporters “I” support them. And Senator James Lankford, R-Okla., Said he was "absolutely supportive" of the move because few senators had read the entire text.

Democrats have taken over the reading of the bill.

After the clerk began reading the bill, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Got up and said to a colleague, "It's a good thing we have time during a national emergency to do this."

The Senate voted before Thursday to begin the debate on the bill. Vice President Kamala Harris had to break 50-50 parity on the motion to start the debate.

Once the reading of the legislation is complete, the Senate will begin 20 hours of debate on the bill, with the aim of passing it by the weekend.

Democrats want to pass the bill through Congress by mid-March, when a federal push for unemployment benefits expires. The House will have to re-pass it next week due to changes made by the Senate. 

Charlotte Bennett, one of the women who accused New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, on Thursday detailed several cases where the governor allegedly made inappropriate comments, including asking her if her experience with assault had no impact on her sex life. Cuomo allegedly told Bennett that he was comfortable dating a 22-year-old boy and was looking for a girlfriend, and asked her about her sex.

Bennett, who was the governor's executive assistant and health policy adviser, told anchor and managing editor of "CBS Evening News" Norah O'Donnell that during a one-on-one meeting at 5 p.m. June 2020, Cuomo asked several questions that led to it. to the conclusion that "The governor tries to sleep with me."