Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) blocked a federal shield law that would protect journalists from disclosing their sources and materials to the government.
In the Senate on Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) sought unanimous consent to pass a bill to protect reporters from exploitative state spying known as the PRESS Act. Mr. Cotton disagreed.
Cotton criticized the “liberal media” and said it “doesn't deserve any more protection.”
“Press badges don't make us better than other parts of the country, and they don't mean we can ignore the law,” he said on the Senate floor.
The Hill has reached out to Cotton's office for comment. In the post of XHe said the bill would “undermine” national security and “turn liberal reporters into a protected class.”
“No American citizen, especially the media, should be afforded the privileges provided in this bill,” Cotton said in the post.
Last month, President-elect Trump appealed to Republicans “Kill this bill,” he said, even though it passed the House with bipartisan support.
Wyden, who authored the Senate version of the bill, had sought to pass it without a roll call, but Cotton opposed it.
The Hill reached out to Wyden's office. Deadline reported He said he intends to continue dialogue with Cotton about the bill.
Earlier Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York posted online about the bill, calling on Senate Republicans to “get out of the way.”
“This bill would protect journalists from excessive government surveillance.” Schumer wrote about X. “This ensures that reporters are no longer legally required to disclose their sources or investigative files or hand over data held by phone and internet companies.”
