Senate passage of President Trump’s massive domestic policy package on Tuesday was a hard-fought achievement for Republican leaders who had slogged through days of debate and negotiation to push the legislation across the finish line. It was also a feat of voting stamina, coming close to the most extensive so-called vote-a-rama in Senate history.
When all was said and done, senators cast 43 roll-call votes, just one vote shy of a record set during a budget debate in March 2008. The voting lasted roughly 27 hours, from shortly after 9 a.m. Monday to minutes after noon on Tuesday. It’s not clear whether that was a record; the Senate does not track how long such vote-a-thons last.
Senate officials initially reported that the chamber had set a record for sheer number of votes during a vote-a-rama, when senators cast their 45th consecutive vote Tuesday morning on the tax cut and domestic policy package. But that total included voice votes, in which senators agree to a measure without a roll-call of “aye’s” and “nay’s,” while the previous record of 44 from 2008 listed on the Senate’s official website only counted recorded votes.
(By either measure, the debate 17 years ago remains the record-holder; it featured a total of 56 votes, including those taken by voice, while Tuesday’s topped out at 49.)
Mr. Trump has directed lawmakers to deliver the bill to his desk by the Fourth of July, a deadline that all but required the marathon session of amendment votes, a process unique to the Senate that lets any member offer unlimited changes on budget-related measures.
With three Republicans joining Democrats to oppose the final version, Vice President JD Vance cast the deciding vote to pass it. But Republicans substantially changed the bill from the version delivered to them by the House, so it will now move back there to be considered for final passage.
There is no vote-a-rama in the House. Instead, the prep work happens in the Rules Committee before the bill makes its way to the floor for final passage. That process is also known to drag on for hours: In late May, Representative Virginia Foxx, the North Carolina Republican who leads the committee, oversaw a meeting that lasted nearly 22 hours.
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