Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is openly criticizing a new House bill that would make Election Day a federal holiday.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “This is the Democrat plan to restore democracy? A brand-new week of paid vacation for every federal employee who’d like to hover around while you cast your ballot? A Washington-based, taxpayer-subsidized clearing house for political campaign funding? A power grab.”

In response, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted, “Voting isn’t a 'power grab'. It’s democracy, and it’s literally the entire point of our representative government. And by the way: Not only should Election Day be a federal holiday, we need automatic voter registration and universal mail voting, too.” The majority of democracies hold general elections on the weekend, while some others which hold elections on a weekday have made the day a public holiday.