RonAnon Johnson’s Relief Bill Delay Tactic Blows Up In His Face

BY Timothy Evans March 5, 2021

Just like the villain Dr. Evil in the “Austin Powers” movies, Sen. Ron “RonAnon” Johnson devised a diabolical plan. He was going to object to the motion to dispense with the reading of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill in the Senate and force every one of the 628 pages to be read by Senate clerks before debate on the bill could commence.

And read they were, for 10 hours and 45 minutes, to the mostly empty Senate chamber. Johnson, most likely, was resting comfortably in his Washington, D.C. residence. But while he was snoozing, Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, was wide awake and thwarted Johnson’s plot. When the reading completed in the middle of the night, Van Hollen rose to request that the debate on the bill resume at 9:00 a.m. and that it be limited to just three hours, rather than the originally planned 20 hours.

(Photo by congress.gov via Getty Images)

No Republicans were in the the chamber to object and it was so ordered. As a result Johnson’s evil plan to drag out passage of the legislation spectacularly blew up in his face.

This is kinda funny, from CNN's @FoxReports:

"Instead of having 20 hours of debate, because there wasn't a Republican there to object at the end of this process, they are now just going to have 3 hours of debate. Then they will start at noon with this vote-a-rama." pic.twitter.com/XgxLHYuzq0

— The Recount (@therecount) March 5, 2021

Voting on the bill – and the commencement of the so-called “vote-a-rama” on extraneous amendments that Republicans are sure to offer – was thus set to begin at noon EST on Friday.

During the three-hour debate window, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged the Senate to swiftly approve the aid package. “We need to get this done. It would be so much better if we could in a bipartisan way, but we need to get it done,” he said. “We’re not going to make the same mistake we made after the last economic downturn, when Congress did too little to help the nation rebound … we’re not going to be timid in the face of big challenges.”