
WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor Monday to lament the death of Representative John Lewis, a civil rights icon whom the Republican leader called a “monumental figure” who made “huge personal sacrifices to help our nation move past the sin of racism.”
While many Democrats welcomed the tribute, they immediately pressed for more than just reverent words: If Mr. McConnell and Republicans really wanted to honor Mr. Lewis, they argued, they should agree to restore the voting rights protections that were the cause of his life, which were stripped away by the Supreme Court seven years ago.