A group of about a dozen protesters, many of them clad in white lab coats, disrupted the U.S. Senate on Tuesday as senators prepared to vote to proceed on a series of bills to kill the Affordable Care Act. As the group chanted “Kill the bill, don’t kill us” and “shame,” Democratic and Republican senators sat silent and expressionless at their desks, waiting for the protesters to be removed so they could vote on the motion to proceed.
Immediately before the chanting began, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urged his colleagues to vote to advance the repeal effort.
“Look, we can’t let this moment slip by,” McConnell said. “We can’t let it slip by. We’ve talked about this too long. We’ve wrestled with this issue. We’ve watched the consequences of the status quo. The people who sent us here expect us to begin this debate.”
It took several minutes to escort the protesters out of the chamber, and even once they were all removed, their chants rang out from the adjacent hallway, clearly audible as the senators began to vote.
Watch below via NBC News:
Protesters chant "Kill the bill. Don't kill us." in Senate chamber ahead of motion to proceed vote. https://t.co/HIUtN7uVeG
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) July 25, 2017
