In a move that defies the will of both chambers of Congress, the congressional leadership stripped out an amendment that would have allowed travel to Cuba in a late night session on October 13.

The move came during the conference committee on the bill behind closed doors, provoking outrage among groups and individuals across the nation that have been working to end the counterproductive travel ban.

The Senate voted 59-36 to adopt the amendment while the House voted 227-188, for the fourth consecutive year. In the most egregious twist, sources on the Hill said that the Cuba provision was stripped out before the conferees even formally met, so there was no opportunity for them to vote on whether or not to remove it.

“We believe that stripping out this amendment behind closed doors casts doubts on the merits of our democracy at a time when the embargo is purported to encourage democracy in Cuba. What kind of a message does this send?” asked Mavis Anderson, Senior Associate at the Latin America Working Group.

Going into the conference committee, many of the legislators who had worked to pass the amendment urged their colleagues to respect the will of Congress and retain the provisions.

In a statement last week, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) said "Suspending enforcement of the Cuba travel ban passed the Senate by a wide bipartisan margin and passed the House by a wide bipartisan margin. There is absolutely no reason the provision should be removed from the Treasury-Transportation Appropriations bill. To do so would be a direct act against the will of a majority of Congress and majority of Americans."

Pressure from a White House—eying Florida’s electoral votes—was cited by congressional leaders as the reason for the change. “It’s clear that the White House isn’t listening to the will of the majority of Americans, who support ending these senseless restrictions,” said Philip Schmidt from the Latin America Working Group. “The administration believes that gaining a few votes in Florida is worth angering a broad section of the rest of the nation. This thinking could backfire on them.”