Nevertheless, Kamala Harris Persisted: Senator Told to Pipe Down, Twitter Goes Wild

Ashley Boucher
Nevertheless, Kamala Harris Persisted: Senator Told to Pipe Down, Twitter Goes Wild

During Senate Intelligence Committee questioning Wednesday about whether Donald Trump has intervened in ongoing investigations about Russia’s involvement in the United States 2016 presidential campaign, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) had a terse exchange with the committee’s chair, Richard Burr (R-NC).

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Harris, the only woman of color and California’s former attorney general, was interrupted first by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and then told by Burr to “provide the witnesses the courtesy, which has not been extended, fully across, for questions to get answered.” Harris tried to explain that she was worried Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who she was currently questioning, might try to filibuster. Burr cut her off again and encouraged Rosenstein to speak.

Here’s the exchange:

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Earlier this year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was similarly chastised by a male colleague when she was trying to speak. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted,” a now infamous line used as a symbol of female empowerment.

Twitter users are drawing a connection between the two incidents, and are not happy with the way Harris was treated. “A White male GOP senator tells a female Senator to be quiet. Where have we heard that before?” one Twitter user asked. “Listen to how these white men are talking down to Kamala Harris,” tweeted another.

However, Republican tweeters see it a different way. One said she got “schooled” by her male colleagues.

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