Senate approves Juneteenth as federal holiday after Sen. Johnson drops objection

Senate lawmakers approved a bill Tuesday that would establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday after Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he would drop his objection to the measure.

"Happy that my bill to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday just passed the Senate," Cornyn said on Twitter. "It has been a state holiday in Texas for more than 40 years. Now more than ever, we need to learn from our history and continue to form a more perfect union." The Cornyn-backed bill was first introduced in the Senate in 2020 following nationwide protests against racial injustice after the death of George Floyd. Johnson was the lone senator to object to the legislation, arguing in July 2020 that the bill would place an undue burden on taxpayers by requiring them to fund another paid holiday for federal employees. Johnson dropped his objection to the legislation on Tuesday.