DeMint Ends Demand To Read START Treaty Out Loud
Politico reports:
South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint backed off his demand Wednesday to force a full reading of the New START treaty, a move that may ease a legislative logjam amid a flurry of activity in the waning days of the congressional session.
DeMint’s decision also signals that the long-debated START treaty may now have a serious chance to win ratification and hand the White House a major victory in the coming days. A procedural vote on the treaty Wednesday garnered 66 votes, a strong indicator that the treaty could pick up the 67 votes it needs for ratification.
Thirty-two Republicans voted against opening debate on the treaty and two senators, including Democrat Evan Bayh, were not present – putting Democrats in striking distance of securing the necessary votes. Still, a number of Republicans have called for more time to debate the measure, and may ultimately vote to block its ratification if they feel like they’re being steamrolled.
The move comes after a heated back-and-forth that dominated Wednesday and threatened to derail action for the rest of the lame-duck session, as DeMint vowed to force Senate clerks to read the entire treaty, a process that could take 10 hours or longer and push back a series of other bills awaiting action.
Amid staunch White House criticism, GOP leaders signaled that they wanted to avoid DeMint’s threatened theatrics to delay debate over the treaty. Instead, they believe they have the political high ground to force a major battle over the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the floor that a full reading of the START treaty was “not essential.”
