Two weeks after passing in the House, the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids A Chance Act ran into a one-man roadblock in the U.S. Senate.
That obstacle was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who stood by a political agenda that included an amendment requiring “mandatory funding for the national health service corps and mandatory funding for the teaching health center program,” according to The Bulwark.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a key supporter of the legislation, blasted Sanders on the Senate floor and on social media for stopping the passage of the bill that expands children’s access to existing cancer therapy trials, and incentivizes the development of treatments and solutions for pediatric cancer.
“Last night, Bernie Sanders blocked our bipartisan bill, the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, to give kids fighting cancer more treatment options. A new low, even for ‘The Grinch.’ I won’t back down,” Mullins posted on X.
Last night, Bernie Sanders blocked our bipartisan bill, the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, to give kids fighting cancer more treatment options.
A new low, even for “The Grinch.”
I won’t back down. 👇
WATCH: Mullin vs Bernie Sanders: pic.twitter.com/H7FnbxI2Ya
— Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) December 18, 2025
Mullins angrily accused Sanders of holding children suffering from cancer “hostage” to advance his political agenda.
“He’s literally killing kids in front of us because of his political movement. And it is ridiculous,” the GOP senator said on the floor. “He wants to hold kids that are dying of rare diseases and pediatric cancer, wants to hold them hostage to now try to push his agenda farther, and not go through the committee of jurisdiction, but hold the kids hostage!”
“Nothing I’m talking about has to do with politics. This has to do with kids. Yet my Senator from Vermont wants to make it about politics,” Mullins said, before likening Sanders to the Grinch.
“You know, this time of the year at Christmas, we talk about Grinches all the time, right? They go in and they steal the kids’ gifts. But at the end of the show, their hearts grow bigger and they give the gifts back. And they allow kids to be excited about Christmas morning,” he said. “What’s happening right here in front of us, the Grinch is stealing kids’ lives. And they’re stealing hope from the families. Hope from the families that might have an opportunity just to try for a political agenda.
“And I hope to God that every single family that’s going through this will hold the Senator from Vermont accountable.”
The bill was named after Mikaela Naylon, who died this year at the age of 16 after being diagnosed in 2020 with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who pushed the bill in the House, commented on Mikaela coming to Washington to advocate for the bill even though she was very ill.
“She was very sick. She’d just undergone radiation and chemotherapy. She wasn’t feeling very well, and I could tell. But she still made the effort to come to Washington, to go to members’ offices and advocate for the legislation,” McCaul said.
“It’s probably one of the most rewarding things I’ve done is to not only draw awareness to childhood cancer by forming the [Childhood Cancer Caucus] and then having an annual summit, but to be able to pass legislation that results in saving children’s lives. I don’t think there’s anything more important than that,” he added.
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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