Retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., is not giving up on his twice-rejected attempt to get a vote on legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller.
According to The Hill, Flake said Thursday he is going back to the Senate floor next week to try to push through the measure while he continues to dig in on his vow to vote against any judicial nominees until that vote is taken.
"We have a bill that's passed the committee with bipartisan support," Flake said, The Hill reported. "There have been suggestions that I should accept a sense of the Senate. That sends the wrong message to the president. This is the message that needs to be sent to the president: Passage of this bill."
His first two requests to schedule a vote were blocked, with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, calling the legislation unconstitutional, The Hill reported.
"We need to pass the bill; whether it passes the House or not, I'm not in control of that, but we need to pass it out of the Senate," Flake said Thursday, adding separately: "I think it's important enough, particularly after the firing of the attorney general, to use the leverage I have."
If Republican leadership tries to wait out Flake, who is retiring at the end of the year, it would force the White House to renominate them in January.
The Hill noted the Senate Judiciary Committee has passed legislation to protect Mueller, or any other special counsel, in the event he or she was fired – but the bill has stalled amid opposition from GOP leadership.
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