Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Overwhelming Rejection Of MAGA Republicans’ Attempt To Overturn Protections For Abortion In Kansas

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor after Kansas voters overwhelmingly rejected an attempt by MAGA Republicans to undermine protections for abortion following the Dobbs decision. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Two sets of numbers show the winds blowing in Democratic direction: first, the numbers revealed by the vote last night in the state of Kansas, and second, new polling data that shows how overwhelmingly popular the Inflation Reduction Act is in the minds of the American people. These numbers show winds blowing in Democrat’s direction, on the issue of choice and on the issue of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Today I want to talk about both, so let me begin with last night’s election in Kansas:

Last night, in the American heartland, the people of Kansas sent an unmistakable message to MAGA Republican extremists: back off women’s fundamental rights.

In the first vote on abortion rights since the MAGA Supreme Court’s reprehensible decision to take away constitutional rights protected by Roe v Wade—and which was cheered by many Republicans here in the Senate—voters in Kansas decided by a double digit margin to preserve the freedom of choice in their state constitution.

What happened in red Kansas last night is a reflection of what is happening across the country, and what will continue to occur through the November elections. Voters are revolting against the extreme MAGA Republican policies that ban abortions with no exceptions for rape or incest and send women and doctors to jail.

Last night’s election was also a dark reminder that MAGA Republicans are running the show within the GOP. Their views are spreading through the party like a cancer—views that are repugnant not only to most Americans, but – as we saw last night - even to many Republican voters. 

And Kansas was just the start. If it's going to happen in Kansas, it's going to happen in a whole lot of states: the strong pro-choice turnout we saw last night in Kansas will continue well into the fall, and Republicans who side with these extremist MAGA policies that attack women’s rights do so at their own political risk.

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