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Watch: The political debate you didn’t hear about last week

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 11, 2024 in Washington, DC.Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Court Accountability

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is getting a lot of attention for his comments on President’s Biden’s debate performance, but did you know Whitehouse participated in his own spirited debate last week?

Whitehouse, a Democrat, and Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a Republican, participated in a far more policy-centric debate in the replica Senate Chamber at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston. The forum was moderated by Chuck Todd from NBC News.

The two senators discussed the environment, the border, health care, the filibuster, and the future of American democracy — and guess what? They shook hands afterwards.

Something I learned: In the actual Senate, Whitehouse now sits in the seat that Kennedy occupied before he died in 2009.

You can watch the full debate below.

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This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.





Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.