Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voted Monday with Democrats to block a bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood — but it's not because he doesn't believe in stripping the controversial organization of federal funds.
Instead, McConnell (R-Ky.) voted with Democrats to take advantage of a procedural trick that will allow him to force a fresh vote later. The bill would have failed regardless of his vote since it did not receive the 60 votes needed.
The Kentucky senator's office explained the move in two tweets posted to his official account.
In a statement to TheBlaze, McConnell spokesman Michael Brumas explained the vote in further detail:
Leader McConnell is a strong supporter of the legislation and in fact was a co-sponsor when the bill was introduced last week. Under Senate procedure, when a cloture motion to proceed to the measure fails to pass with the required 60 votes, the Majority Leader may switch his ‘yes’ vote to ‘no,’ which allows him bring it up for reconsideration at a future time. Leader McConnell would have voted in favor of the bill but in order to preserve his right to bring it up again, he simply changed his vote to ‘no.’
The Senate blocked the legislation aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood Monday evening, mostly on party-lines.
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