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The
majority leader acknowledged tonight that he does
not have the 60 votes to invoke cloture.
"At
quarter to eight tonight I had 59 1/2 votes," Reid said half
jokingly, adding that he doubted the Republican leader would allow
him to round up to 60. "It would be a waste of time to have a
cloture vote tonight," he added.
Most federal departments are currently operating under a
continuing resolution that expires at midnight on Friday.
House Democratic leaders and appropriators are in the process of
drafting a new CR that would provide stop-gap funding through
midnight on Tuesday. Without an extension, these departments would be
forced to shut down.
Although unconfirmed, it
looks as if at least one senator -- most likely a Republican -- is
holding out until his or her amendment is debated and voted on. An
almost testy exchange between Reid and Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
revealed that a few GOP senators were frustrated that their proposals
had not received floor consideration. Kyl announced that it is his
intent to trim the number of Republican amendments to about 10 or 12.
Votes on the final list of amendments are expected to occur on
Monday.
Thus far, the Senate has
rejected all of the floor amendments offered to the omnibus. |
