Watch Chris Hayes, Mazie Hirono Mock-Cheer Single House Republican Who Backed Renewal of the Voting Rights Act: ‘We got ONE!’

MSNBC host Chris Hayes enjoyed a moment of gallows humor with Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono when the pair mock-cheered the fact that, earlier on Friday, a single House Republican joined with Democrats to reauthorize the 1965 Voting Rights Act: “We got ONE!”

The Voting Rights Act, a landmark piece of civil rights legislation, was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson after a series of stirring protest marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., shined a spotlight on Jim Crow laws that were systemically disenfranchising African-Americans. On The last time the VRA came up for renewal, in 2006, the House reauthorized the law by an overwhelming vote of 390-33.

Fridays’ VRA renewal vote in the House, however, was far different than 13 years ago; this time, the law passed on almost straight party-line vote 228-187, which Hayes called “pretty interesting and somewhat disturbing” before giving the backstory on why the Republican Party had shifted so strongly against the normally bipartisan civil rights law.

“The Supreme Court struck down a part of the Voting Rights Act, which laid out the formula for which states had to go when they’re laying out changes [for new voting restrictions]. The Supreme Court said that that formula was bad,” in its controversial 2013 Shelby v. Holder ruling, he explained. Since that Shelby decision, numerous states with Republican-led legislatures have passed photo ID and other laws increasing voting rights restrictions. “Congress came up with [a new formula] and passed it today. Every Republican voted against that except for one.”

“Who was the one, the guy who was retiring?” Hirono asked.

“No, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, who I think is actually up for re-election.”

“Oh, that’s hopeful,” Hirono dryly responded, cracking Hayes up.

“That’s hopeful, you say!” Hayes exclaimed, laughing, and then pumped his fist in a mock-cheer along with Hirono “We got ONE!” as she sarcastically mouthed the word “Wow.”

“It used to be a totally bipartisan bill. It was a totally bipartisan reauthorization under President George W. Bush, Hayes pointed out. “Like, what does that say to you right now about the nature of the politics of the country that there was one [GOP] vote?”

“It’s very sad there’s only one vote to try to protect voting rights which are a sacred right,” Hirono said. “And then you have Attorney General [Bill] Barr who is not particularly interested in going after voter fraud and all of that voter suppression. He’s not interested in all of that, and so you can see the kind of divisiveness that occurred.”

Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump have indicated that the House-passed VRA renewal would be dead on arrival were it to arrive on their desks.

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.