npr:

The words were those of Coretta Scott King, widow of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

But they resulted in a rarely invoked Senate rule being used to formally silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

On the Senate floor Tuesday, Warren began reading from a letter Scott King wrote in 1986 objecting to President Reagan’s ultimately unsuccessful nomination of then-U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions to a federal district court seat.

Now-Sen. Sessions, R-Ala., is President Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general. Warren was speaking in the debate leading up to Sessions’ likely confirmation by the Senate Wednesday.

Republicans Vote To Silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren In Confirmation Debate

Photo: Pete Marovic/Bloomberg via Getty Images