Campaign Action
Sen. John McCain, on January 20, 2010, had this to say about the Senate halting work on the Affordable Care Act until Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) could be seated.
So here we are, and now the rumors are that they will jam this proposal through the House of Representatives and then bypass what has always been the normal legislative process. They should not do that. The American people have spoken. The people of Massachusetts have spoken for the rest of America: Stop this process, sit down in open and transparent negotiations, and let's begin from the beginning.
Here's Mitch McConnell, that same day on the Senate floor:
“We need to move in a new direction—a dramatically new direction. That is the message of Virginia. That is the message of New Jersey. That is the message of Massachusetts.”
And speaking to reporters after then-Sen. Jim Webb (sorta-D) promised he wouldn't vote for a healthcare bill until Brown was seated, which Harry Reid had already promised not to do anyway:
"One concern I know a number of you had about the outcome of this election would be whether the new senator would be seated soon. […] I am convinced now that no gamesmanship will be played by the other side with regard to future votes in the Senate, thanks to Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. He's made it clear that he will not participate in any additional health care votes prior to Senator Brown being sworn in…. Let’s honor the wishes of the people of Massachusetts and move forward."
And just for fun, here's Jay Sekulow—yep, that one, Trump's lawyer, just a week after the Massachusetts special election:
"There's absolutely no reason to wait to seat Senator-elect Brown and with each passing day he is prevented from participating in the legislative process. This delay tactic along with reports that top Democrats continue to plot passage of health care reform show that its business as usual in Washington ignoring the will of Massachusetts voters and moving forward with a disturbing health care plan that America simply does not want."
So there you have it, the only case you need for Republicans to stop the rush on this tax bill and wait for Doug Jones to be sworn in. You've got McCain on "normal legislative process" (which has been entirely missing in this tax bill), McConnell wanted to respect the wishes of the voters in Virginia and New Jersey and the most recent state to vote to reject the current majority, and Trump's lawyer arguing that the will of the voters and their opposition to a really unpopular bill must be recognized.