After weeks of late nights, weekend work and angst, the Senate appears to be headed toward greenlighting its bipartisan infrastructure bill by Tuesday morning.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that the package is on a "glide path for passage tomorrow morning."
Technically, the Senate's procedural clock won't allow a final vote until 4 a.m. Tuesday. But senators are working on an agreement that would instead allow the vote to come later Tuesday, during more normal business hours. The vote has not yet been scheduled, but could be later this afternoon.
“It may have taken all weekend, but the Senate is now finally on the precipice of passing major bipartisan infrastructure legislation,” Schumer said on the floor Monday morning, noting that Sunday night’s successful procedural vote “put the bill on a glide path for passage tomorrow morning.”
Acknowledging that some have said it’s “unachievable on such a short timeline and in such a slow-moving chamber,” Schumer stuck to his plan to complete work on both the infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill before the August recess.
“Earlier this summer, I suggested the two-track strategy to President [Joe] Biden and [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi,” he said. “We all agreed it was the best way to move forward, and we are working in concert to make it happen.”
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) also said Monday that he plans to put forward a unanimous consent vote “sometime this afternoon” and that Republicans are currently checking with their members “to determine whether there is opposition on our side.”
“We’re not aware of any, but we haven’t finished that process,” he said.
