United States Senator Bernie Sanders has slammed the “absurd” introduction of a bill targeting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as the US government shutdown continues.

Yesterday, Sanders tweeted out an article in the Intercept about the bill, commenting:

“It’s absurd that the first bill during the shutdown is legislation which punishes Americans who exercise their constitutional right to engage in political activity. Democrats must block consideration of any bills that don’t reopen the government. Let’s get our priorities right.”

According to the report, Senators Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and James Risch, R-Idaho, “last week introduced the first bill to be considered in the Republican-led Senate, consolidating four bills that languished in the last Congress.”

READ: Israel’s war on BDS faces backlash

One of those four is legislation that “protects states that pass laws targeting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, including states that ban contracts with Israel boycotters.”

Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, may run again in 2020.