MOVING ON — Now over to the Senate. While they had limited involvement in crafting the debt limit deal, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will now try to strike a deal of their own on timing and amendments. Once the House passed the bill last night, Schumer put it on the Senate’s calendar so that his chamber can start moving on the bill today. He can file cloture on the debt limit package as soon as today. “There's been a very good vote in the House. I hope we can move the bill quickly here in the Senate, and bring it to the President's desk as soon as possible,” Schumer said. But “as soon as possible” takes teamwork in the Senate. Any individual senator can drag out consideration of a bill for nearly a week and it takes all 100 members to agree to fast-track legislation. McConnell said Wednesday that he hopes that Schumer will agree to allow some amendment votes in exchange for votes in favor of a timing agreement to get the bill on that fast track. “I can tell you what I hope happens is that those who have amendments, if given votes, will yield back time so that we can finish this Thursday or Friday and soothe the country and soothe the markets,” McConnell told reporters. But so far Schumer has not publicly agreed to allow amendments, or counted them out. He did issue a warning: "We can't send anything back to the House. That would risk default." But that still leaves the door open for the Senate to consider amendments from senators who would otherwise hold up the bill (more on that below), if their proposals were almost guaranteed to not get enough votes to be adopted. Essentially, let the naysayers blow off steam with their long-shot proposals and then move onto passing the bill. They say magic can happen in the Senate on Thursdays. Here’re the senators we’re watching today:
- Rand Paul: The Kentucky Republican wants a vote on an alternative debt ceiling proposal that would raise the debt limit for a shorter time span while imposing hundreds of billions in budget cuts. He said he won’t hold up the time agreement as long as he gets a vote on his amendment, admitting his amendment won’t pass but insisting people need to see it get a vote.
- Mike Lee: The Utah Republican railed against the bill on the Senate floor Wednesday night, calling the debt limit agreement “a fake response to burdensome debt” that is “born out of cowardly fear of confrontation & lack of conviction.” But also said he sees "no reason to hold it up" if he gets votes on his amendments. He has a half dozen amendments in mind, but may only demand a vote on one.
- Tim Kaine: The Virginia Democrat is furious about the inclusion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline – which would cut through parts of his home state – in the debt limit proposal. “It’s extremely frustrating because there could have been other vehicles to do it,” Kaine said Wednesday. “It doesn't have to go into the debt ceiling.” He is also furious with the White House: “They don't even bother to pick up the phone and call me. Have I made them mad? No, I'm the one they call to try to get cabinet secretaries.”
We’re also keeping an eye on any amendments cooking on defense spending. McConnell called the defense caps “the worst part of the deal” but it’s others, like Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) who may want changes. But some defense-minded Democrats are also unhappy with defense caps, so leaders want to make sure that any defense amendments don’t get enough votes to send the bill back to the House. Prog rock: Why the left held its fire on no-win debt deal, from Burgess, Holly Otterbein and Nicholas The firm no-vote Democrats: Bernie Sanders (who caucuses with Democrats), Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey The no vote Republicans: Sens. Tim Scott, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, J.D. Vance, Mike Braun, and Rick Scott.
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