"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted," said Sen. Mitch McConnell.

In his attempt to defend the formal silencing of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Senate Majority Leader McConnell unintentionally gave her supporters a new rallying cry. 

Warren's supporters — and Sen. Jeff Sessions' opponents — began tweeting messages of support with the #ShePersisted and #LetLizSpeak hashtags. Some saw parallels between Warren's silencing and other notable women in history.

McConnell has yet to respond to the reaction but has continued to voice his support for Sessions.