
SiriusXM host on hunger strike urges Congress to put voting rights on the front burner
CNN
Sirius XM radio host Joe Madison, who is engaged in a hunger strike over what he has called a "politically and morally wrong" attack on voting rights, told CNN on Friday that he wants lawmakers to put voting rights "on the front burner" when they return from their Thanksgiving recess.
Madison's comments come as Democrats, who hold the majority in both chambers of Congress and control the White House, have been pressured to pass legislation on voting rights reform. But Senate Republicans, who hold 50 seats in the chamber, have repeatedly blocked the legislation, and Democrats on the left have increasingly called on their party's senators to gut the Senate's filibuster rule requiring 60 votes to advance most legislation.
In an interview Friday with CNN's Don Lemon, Madison, who is on the 12th day of the hunger strike, said there have been "physical challenges," but added he is remaining hopeful that "the senators, upon their Thanksgiving recess while they're reflecting on the abundance of this country, that they'll reflect on what will happen if our voting rights aren't protected."