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Despite opposition from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley confirmed Thursday that his committee will vote next week on a bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired in the midst of the Russia investigation.
"Some have raised the question of why the committee plans on proceeding with the markup despite the fact that the majority leader has indicated that he will not take this bill up on the floor," said Grassley, R-Iowa., at a committee meeting. "The views of the majority leader are obviously important to consider, but they do not govern what happens here on the Judiciary Committee."
McConnell said Tuesday on Fox News that he would not bring the bipartisan bill to the Senate floor for a vote, even if it is approved by the Judiciary Committee. The committee is scheduled to vote next Thursday, after debating amendments.
"We'll not be having this on the floor of the Senate," McConnell, R-Ky., said during an interview on Fox News.
Grassley said he promised the bill's main sponsors — Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Thom Tillis and Democrats Chris Coons and Cory Booker — that he would schedule a committee vote if they worked together to merge two bills to protect Mueller into one.