GOP senators suggest bipartisan infrastructure deal in place, vote looms
The long bipartisan infrastructure saga may be heading toward the finish line.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) announced Wednesday that negotiators have reached an agreement on the $1.2 trillion plan's "major issues" and "are prepared to move forward" after weeks of back and forth. Other GOP sources reportedly confirmed the news, but there hasn't been word from the Democrat's side yet, however. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said she isn't sure if everything's locked up yet.
Meanwhile, details remain scarce, though some are beginning to trickle out.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If Portman's assessment is accurate, a procedural vote looms, perhaps as early as Wednesday afternoon. There's no guarantee it will pass, but Portman seemed hopeful that they'll get the 60 votes to advance it after he and Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) earlier in the day.
Assuming all 50 Democrats and the five Republicans who were involved in the negotiations are on board, the Senate needs five more GOP lawmakers to join them. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) have already hinted they'll be among that group, and Portman described McConnell as "open-minded."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Political cartoons for January 10Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a warning shot, a shakedown, and more
-
Courgette and leek ijeh (Arabic frittata) recipeThe Week Recommends Soft leeks, tender courgette, and fragrant spices make a crisp frittata
-
Trump’s power grab: the start of a new world order?Talking Point Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the US president has shown that arguably power, not ‘international law’, is the ultimate guarantor of security
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
Will the new year bring a new shutdown?Today’s Big Question A January deadline could bring the pain all over again
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Is Trump deliberately redacting Epstein files to shield himself?Today’s Big Question Removal of image from publicly released documents prompts accusations of political interference by justice department
