Tom Cotton: “I just want to respond briefly to my friend from Vermont, and he is my friend from Vermont. I don't mean that in the way…”

“I just want to respond briefly to my friend from Vermont, and he is my friend from Vermont. I don't mean that in the way that Senators usually say that when they say ``friend from another State'' but they are not actually friends and they oftentimes can't stand each other. He is my friend from Vermont, and he has been so since we served together in the House some time ago. First, I will note, as I said, that nine Democratic Senators have joined my call to freeze this money. Those would be Senator Rosen, Senator Manchin, Senator Baldwin, Senator Casey, Senator Sinema, Senator Cortez Masto, Senator Brown, Senator Kelly, and Senator Tester. I will observe from that list that seven of those nine are up for reelection in difficult campaigns next year, unlike my friend from Vermont, who just won his election in one of the most Democratic States in the country. So I wonder why these seven Democratic Senators who are at risk on the campaign trail next year weren't willing to join my bill. We offered them all an opportunity to join the bill, but it was radio silence. Could it be that they want to say one thing on the campaign trail and do another thing here in the Senate? A few points that the Senator from Vermont made--that this was a tough decision to free hostages and that we have to keep our word.…”