The Senate’s clerks concluded a marathon reading session on Sunday, going through every word of the Republicans’ sweeping tax and spending legislation. With that hurdle cleared, the chamber is now on track to proceed toward a final vote, expected to take place Monday.
In a bid to stall progress, Democrats demanded that the entire 940-page bill be read aloud, a process that stretched nearly 16 hours and wrapped up shortly after 3 p.m. Eastern Time.
“I objected to stop Republicans moving forward on their Big, Ugly Bill until they read every single word of it to the American people,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on X last night.
Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) publicly recognized the effort of the staffers who carried out the task.
“I would like to start by just taking a moment to thank the clerks, who stayed up all night reading the amendment and getting us to this point. I know it was a long night and that we’re not finished yet, but I want them to know the Senate appreciates their dedication, their stamina and their service,” he said.
With the reading complete, the Senate will now enter a period of up to 20 hours of floor debate, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, before moving on to a potentially marathon session of back-to-back amendment votes known as a “vote-a-rama.”
Republican leadership is expected to waive much of their allotted debate time, potentially speeding up the process and allowing the vote-a-rama to begin during the early hours of Monday morning. If that happens, the final vote could take place later in the day.
During this next phase, senators may propose unlimited amendments as long as they pertain to the tax and spending legislation. Before the bill can reach a final vote, every amendment must be voted on and resolved.
Last night, the GOP successfully secured enough support to advance the bill following lengthy negotiations and a drawn-out voting session that remained open for over three hours. Even so, challenges remain.
Two Republican senators — Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky — opposed the procedural vote and are anticipated to reject the bill itself, citing disagreements over Medicaid policies and the inclusion of a $5 trillion increase to the federal debt ceiling.
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), known for her centrist positions within the Republican conference, backed the procedural step last night but has not yet decided how she will vote on the final legislation.
“That’s going to depend on whether the bill is substantially changed,” she said last night. “There are some very good changes that have been made in the latest version, but I want to see further changes and I will be filing a number of amendments.”
Last night’s vote was complicated by opposition from four conservative Republicans — Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rick Scott of Florida, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, and Mike Lee of Utah — who delayed proceedings for nearly four hours over concerns that the Medicaid expansions in the bill were overly generous.
The conservative holdouts said they only agreed to move forward after receiving commitments from Thune and President Trump that Scott’s proposal to reduce the 90% federal match rate for Medicaid expansion enrollees would be supported.
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a key moderate voice, also hesitated to commit, withholding her vote for several hours due to concerns about proposed changes to Medicaid and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) included in the legislative framework.
{Matzav.com}