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Lawmaker criticizes Democrats for blocking NDAA motion, says focus is on 2026 race
Summary
A lawmaker told reporters that Democrats blocked a motion to proceed on the National Defense Authorization Act and framed it as partisan obstruction of a routine national security bill; he said he is concentrating on the 2026 Senate races rather than revisiting the 2020 election.
A lawmaker told reporters the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is a routine, bipartisan national-security measure and criticized Democrats for blocking a motion to proceed, saying the action was "really unfortunate." "We are dealing with an important national security matter, the National Defense Authorization Act, something that Congress has done every year now for the last 65 years," the lawmaker said.
The lawmaker argued the motion to proceed — the procedural step to bring the NDAA to the floor — was blocked by Democrats and described that opposition as partisan. "The Democrats, blocked it. Every single 1. And that, my friends, I believe is really unfortunate," he said, adding that the bill included "38 Democrat amendments" Republicans tried to surface.
Reporters pressed the lawmaker on several related topics. When asked whether he would encourage a public figure not to say the 2020 election "was stolen," the reporter asked: "Would you encourage him to not say that the 2020 election was stolen?" The lawmaker replied he did not know "what he's gonna say" and said he and his colleagues are focused on the 2026 election. "Only thing I can tell you is, we are focused on the 2026 election," he said.
On a question about whether senators Raphael Warnock and "Assaf" (transcript spelling) are "duly chosen and sworn," the lawmaker again emphasized future campaigns rather than re-litigating 2020 results. The transcript includes the reporter's question about a senator's extended absence and health (the reporter referred to "Senator McCall"), and the lawmaker's answer referenced past long absences on both sides of the aisle and expressed hope for Senator McConnell's return; the transcript therefore uses two different names in that exchange.
The lawmaker also said he would consider staying in session to finish business "if I thought there was a path to getting a positive result" and recounted that Republicans had held multiple votes on the Save America Act and related amendments but did not win any Democratic support. He discussed legislative constraints including the Byrd rule and emphasized that, in the end, passage depends on whether there is the "math" — enough votes to pass measures and to defeat any poison-pill amendments.
The exchange closed with the lawmaker reiterating that state certification is the mechanism for election results and that he is focused on the future. "I'm looking to the future. We have a senate race in Georgia this year in 2026, and, hoping we're gonna be able to pick up a seat there," he said. He then thanked reporters and ended the remarks.
