Politico is reporting this afternoon that it’s déjà vu all over again in the Senate Thursday with tea party favorite Ted Cruz demanding a vote on healthcare reform as the price for moving ahead with funding for the government.
The Texas conservative was a central player in events leading up to the shutdown last October –again over the Affordable Care Act. Now he’s back, demanding a vote on his amendment days before the government faces the risk of another shutdown.
Cruz’s target is a $1.1 trillion spending bill which passed the House easily Wednesday on a 359-67 vote after an hour of debate governed by a Republican-backed rule that allowed no amendments.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is hoping to achieve the same result by using his position to block amendments. And most Senate Republicans seem willing to go along— given the size of the House vote and need to get the bill done before a stopgap funding resolution runs out Jan 18.
Calls and emails to Cruz’s press office went unanswered Thursday afternoon. But coming out a party lunch earlier, fellow Republicans said that Cruz felt strongly and had yet to give up in his demands. MORE…
