As House and Senate Republicans gather in Baltimore for their annual retreat this week, Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) says Democrats will force votes on Republican frontrunner Donald Trumps proposals.
These votes will give all Senators a chance to take a stand on the policy issues dominating the public debate and Republicans a chance to stand with the frontrunner for their nomination, Reid said in a statement.
He jabbed that the votes could be scheduled under an open amendment process, with no interference to the light workload Senate Republican leaders have announced for 2016.
While Republican congressional leaders have kept the GOP frontrunner at arms length, Trumps success is impossible for them to avoid as Republicans convene this week to lay out their agenda for the coming year.
If Republicans are afraid to bring their standard-bearers policies up for votes, Democrats will hold Republicans accountable by seeking floor votes on Trumps policies ourselves, Reid said in his Thursday statement, noting that among the Trump policies he wants the Senate to consider is the candidates proposal to temporarily halt Muslims from entering the country.
When asked about Reids threat, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters, according to The Hill, that the GOP could pull the same trick with Democratic presidential candidates.
Its worth noting that whats good for the goose is good for the gander, and so you could expect amendments that they might not like related to the Sanders or Clinton campaigns, he said, according to The Hill.
McConnell added that he tries to keep presidential election politics out of the upper chamber.
[A]s a general rule, what Ive tried to ask the Senate to do is let the presidential candidates run their race, and lets try to do the peoples business, the Majority Leader said.