Palmetto State News

South Carolina Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham voted in favor of an amendment proposed by fellow Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas that would ban the federal government from funding schools that teach critical race theory (CRT) in schools.

All Senate Republicans voted in favor of the amendment, which passed by a vote of 50-49, while all Democrats but West Virginia's Joe Manchin voted against it. CRT is a controversial course of study at the center of a raging culture war between the two political parties for months. 

“Today, kids again are being taught that the color of their skin defines them, and if they look a certain way, they’re an oppressor," Scott said. "From colleges to corporations to our culture, people are making money and gaining power by pretending we haven’t made any progress at all, by doubling down on the divisions we’ve worked so hard to heal.”

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott | File photo

Cotton introduced the amendment to the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill that bans the use of federal funds for teaching critical race theory in schools called the Stop CRT Act. 

“They want to teach our children that America is not a good nation but a racist nation," Cotton remarked ahead of the vote. "Those teachings are wrong and our tax dollars should not support them. My amendment will ensure that federal funds aren’t used to indoctrinate children as young as pre-K to hate America."

Cotton also pointed out examples of what prompted his introduction of the amendment. Thirty public school districts in 15 states have assigned a book inspired by critical race theory called, “Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness.”