Punchbowl News: “Senate Majority Leader John Thune declared earlier this week that he wouldn’t move on the House’s budget blueprint until the Senate solves the Sept. 30 funding fight. That means reconciliation won’t move in the Senate anytime soon — and passing a bipartisan stopgap spending bill could still take weeks or months of additional work.”
”If that doesn’t happen until mid-to-late September, there won’t be enough time to complete reconciliation before lawmakers leave for the pre-election recess.”
”Many GOP senators believe that’s exactly the point.”
”More importantly, the practical impact of Thune’s decision is that he’s trying to protect his most vulnerable senators from a politically perilous vote-a-rama just weeks before the election. Democrats can force an unlimited number of votes during these sessions, and it’s naive to believe that Senate GOP leaders would be able to defeat all of them.”
