WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee, issued the following statement in response to the Senate Foreign Relations Chairman limiting press access to a controversial business meeting on non-COVID related matters. 

“Today Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took an action contrary to the guidance that Chairman Blunt and I issued regarding Senate hearings. The COVID-19 crisis has forced the Senate to adapt in order to continue its work on behalf of the American people, and we worked to ensure that committees could hold hearings that can be viewed by the American public. Today, Chairman Risch blocked a video livestream of the Foreign Relations Committee meeting, and Ranking Member Menendenz was forced to record footage of the meeting with an iPhone. Forcing a Senator to resort to capturing committee proceedings with a homemade video is an embarrassment to the Senate, and should not happen again, or the Rules Committee should take further action.” 

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