GOP fumes over Schumer hardball strategy
By Jordain Carney - 07/15/21 12:54 PM EDT
Republicans are bristling over Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) hardball strategy to try to force them to finalize a bipartisan infrastructure deal in a matter of days.
Republican negotiators and members of leadership believe Schumer is trying to jam them and warn that they won’t vote to start debate even on a shell bill that the Democratic leader is intending to use a vehicle for the bipartisan deal once it’s finalized.
“It’s a bad idea if the bill’s not ready. ...Our guys aren’t going to vote for a bill they haven’t seen,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. Senate Republican.
Schumer will need at least 60 votes to advance the shell legislation, meaning the support of 10 Republicans if every Democrat also goes along with the strategy. If Republicans agree to start debate they could them substitute in the bipartisan text when it’s done.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of GOP leadership, predicted that there could be 10 GOP senators or more who would vote to advance the bipartisan bill “but you’ve got to see what the bill looks like.”
And several of his most likely “yes” votes, the Republicans helping negotiate the bipartisan bill, were frustrated by Schumer’s strategy, which his office acknowledged was a hardball move aimed at providing the bipartisan group with a hard deadline to finalize their bill and prevent talks from dragging on.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) characterized Schumer as trying to “jam the bill.”
“We’re still working very hard. We’re making good progress and he ought to respect that,” Collins said of Schumer.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/563206-gop-fumes-over-schumer-hardball-strategy
