Mitch McConnell Will Force Senate To Vote On Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal Next Week

Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) introduced the Green New Deal proposal last week. This legislation intends to transition the United States over to renewable energy sources, with the country generating 100 percent of its energy from them within ten years.

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his plans to bring the proposal before the Senate for a vote. “I’ve noted with great interest the Green New Deal, and we’re going to be voting on that in the Senate to give everybody an opportunity to go on record,” McConnell informed reporters.

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All of the Democratic senators running for president have voiced their support for the bill, but more centrist Democrats within the Senate are less enraptured with it; as of this writing, only 11 of 47 liberal senators have backed the proposal. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who some speculate will join the 2020 presidential race, gave a noncommittal answer about his stance on the bill.

“I’m not going to take position on every bill that’s coming out,” he told Politico on Tuesday. “I support a Green New Deal. I think we need to aggressively support climate change [legislation]. That’s my answer.”

Because the Republicans control the Senate, the Democratic bill is not expected to pass. Ocasio-Cortez, nevertheless, welcomes McConnell’s challenge, claiming Republicans are “terrified of this winning vision of a just and prosperous future.” In her statement, she said, “McConnell thinks he can end all debate on the Green New Deal now and stop this freight train of momentum. Unfortunately for Mitch, all he’s going to do is show just how out of touch Republican politicians are with the American people.”