--- title: Elizabeth Warren Silenced by Senate: Internet Reactions description: Following Sen. Elizabeth Warren's silencing by the Senate, the Internet has begun using her rebuke as a rallying cry. canonical: https://time.com/4663708/elizabeth-warren-senate-silencing-internet-reactions/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-08T16:02:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:16:11.261Z og:title: The Internet Is Turning Elizabeth Warren's Silencing Into a Rallying Cry og:description: "Nevertheless, she persisted" og:url: https://time.com/4663708/elizabeth-warren-senate-silencing-internet-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf48ea872d8b5f4a/6988b940e20a87f6c4a94098/elizabeth-warren.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Senate Banking Subcommitee Hearing With Fed Governor Jerome Powell og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Is Turning Elizabeth Warren's Silencing Into a Rallying Cry twitter:description: "Nevertheless, she persisted" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf48ea872d8b5f4a/6988b940e20a87f6c4a94098/elizabeth-warren.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Is Turning Elizabeth Warren's Silencing Into a Rallying Cry: 'Nevertheless, She Persisted' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=20fcd530-0d14-4cc5-be0a-85edd72c77e8&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: GOP Senators Silence Elizabeth Warren for Quoting Coretta Scott King Letter [Watch (HLS stream): GOP Senators Silence Elizabeth Warren for Quoting Coretta Scott King Letter](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YWELpAg3.m3u8) (2:19)  _Published 2017-02-08. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has earned a rare rebuke by the Senate for quoting Coretta Scott King on the Senate floor._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 8, 2017 4:02 PM UTC Sen. Elizabeth Warren has earned a rare rebuke by the Senate for quoting Coretta Scott King on the Senate floor.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 8, 2017 4:02 PM UTC After [Sen. Elizabeth Warren was silenced](http://time.com/4663578/elizabeth-warren-jeff-sessions-coretta-scott-king-senate/) Tuesday night for reading a [letter written by the late Coretta Scott King](http://time.com/4663497/coretta-scott-king-letter-warren-senate-sessions/) during the Senate debate over the nomination of [Sen. Jeff Sessions](http://time.com/4654850/jeff-sessions-sally-yates-attorney-general/) as Attorney General, her supporters on the Internet took the opportunity to use Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s explanation for her rebuke as a rallying cry. Reading the 1986 King letter that opposed Sessions’ federal judge nomination technically meant that Warren had violated Senate rules for “impugning the motives” of Sessions on the Senate floor, and now, the GOP-controlled Senate will not allow Warren to speak again on Sessions’ nomination. “She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted,” McConnell said, according to [The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/08/nevertheless-she-persisted-becomes-new-battle-cry-after-mcconnell-silences-elizabeth-warren/?utm%5Fterm=.1d6f20a04ed0). It was these final three words that seemed to light a fire under social media users, inspiring the hashtags [#LetLizSpeak](https://twitter.com/hashtag/letlizspeak?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) and [#ShePersists](https://twitter.com/hashtag/ShePersists?src=tren) along with a barrage of posts in support of Warren that included women who made history from Rosa Parks to Princess Leia. > [](https://twitter.com/JamilSmith/status/829173906384760834) > [](https://twitter.com/colormeshina/status/829328450024521728) > [](https://twitter.com/BerniceKing/status/829266973397753856) > [](https://twitter.com/brianjayjones/status/829300817773604866) > [](https://twitter.com/YellieKat/status/829291984300937219) > [](https://twitter.com/jennifercarolyn/status/829170661058822147) > [](https://twitter.com/PastorAmyTRC/status/829312732595965953) > [](https://twitter.com/MarcSnetiker/status/829208794379014148) > [](https://twitter.com/KaivanShroff/status/829328895354761219) ## Transcript [00:00] I'll pick up then, with Mrs. King's letter to the Judiciary [00:04] committee when the Judiciary committee was [00:06] considering, not then Senator Sessions, nominee [00:11] Sessions for a position on the federal bench. Fathers, [00:14] sons, and brothers- Mr. President. They are- Mr. [00:19] President. Majority leader. The Senator has impugned [00:22] the motives and conduct of our colleague from [00:24] Alabama, as warned by the Chair. Senator Warren [00:28] quote said, Senator Sessions has used the awesome [00:31] power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote [00:35] by black citizens. I call the Senator to order, under the [00:39] provisions of rule 19. Mr. President? [ INAUDIBLE ] [00:44] Messages. [ INAUDIBLE ] Senator for messages. [00:47] [ INAUDIBLE ] Mr. President, I am surprised that the [00:50] words of Coretta Scott King are not suitable for debate [00:55] in the United States Senate. I ask leave of the Senate [01:00] to continue my remarks. Is there objection? [01:05] Object. I appeal the ruling- Objection is heard. The [01:08] Senator will take her seat. Mr. President, I [01:16] appeal the ruling of the Chair, and I suggest the [01:18] absence of a quorum. On this motion, the yeas are 43, [01:22] the nays are 50, the motion is not agreed to. Tonight, [01:28] I wanted to read that letter and Senator Mitch [01:30] McConnell and the Republicans came to the floor to [01:34] shut me down for reading that letter. So, right now, [01:38] what I'd like to do, I'm outside the Senate, I just want [01:40] to read the letter. Mr. Sessions has used the [01:44] awesome power of his office. To chill the free exercise [01:48] of the vote by black citizens in the district, he now [01:53] seeks to serve as a federal judge. This simply cannot [01:57] be allowed to happen. Mr. Sessions conduct as a U. S. [02:02] attorney, from his politically motivated voting fraud [02:05] prosecution To his indifference toward criminal [02:09] violations of civil rights laws indicates that he lacks [02:13] the temperament, fairness, and judgement to be a [02:17] federal judge. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4663708/elizabeth-warren-senate-silencing-internet-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4663708/elizabeth-warren-senate-silencing-internet-reactions/"},"headline":"The Internet Is Turning Elizabeth Warren's Silencing Into a Rallying Cry: 'Nevertheless, She Persisted'","datePublished":"2017-02-08T16:02:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T07:16:11.261Z","description":"\"She was warned. 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