But a handful of Republicans either joined Democrats or strongly considered doing so, and this first vote of the day was held open for nearly three hours. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio, and Alaska’s Dan Sullivan voted for it, along with all the Democrats. That left just Bill Cassidy, the recently primaried senator from Louisiana, who reportedly spent the three hours threatening to vote aye if he didn’t get his own amendment to redirect the fund instead. Had Cassidy crossed the aisle, it would almost certainly have proven a poison pill, killing the reconciliation bill right there. The amendment would pass, but the final bill almost certainly wouldn’t – unless all the Democrats and those four Republicans all supported it.
But Cassidy eventually voted against it and began working on his own amendment to redirect the whole $1.766 billion to members of law enforcement “who suffered injury or economic loss while defending the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” only for Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to single-handedly kill it. She ruled the Cassidy amendment would need 60 votes to be adopted, and the final vote was 52-47, with six Republicans – Cassidy included – and all 46 present Democrats voting for it.
Read Full Article: https://www.libertynation.com/senate-gives-trump-ice-reconciliation-and-a-no-on-the-save-act
