Spending bill vote thwarted by challenge from Cruz

Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader and minority leader who will switch roles in a few weeks, thought they had a path forward to complete a $1.1 trillion bill to fund the U.S. government.

They didn't count on Ted Cruz.

The Senate Republican from Texas - with an assist from Utah Republican Mike Lee - forced lawmakers into a Saturday session that left the timing of the spending bill's completion in doubt.

Signals from Senate leadership today pointed toward passage as late as 7 a.m. Monday. The legislative process remains in flux, however, as the Senate is set to hold as many as 40 procedural votes on nominations today because the two parties couldn't reach a deal on holding a vote.

"We worked for a long time yesterday in the late hours of the night trying to secure an agreement," Reid said in opening the Senate session this afternoon. "A small group of Senate Republicans have decided that it's in their" interest to hold it up, he said. "Now we wait."

Leading the charge against passing the bill are senators who agree on almost nothing - Cruz and Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Their disputes over the bill have complicated passing the spending measure, which is needed to avoid a possible government shutdown that both parties have said they want to avoid.

'We're Stuck'

"It's not looking good. Two people are holding us up," a somber-looking Reid said, referring to Cruz and Lee, as he entered the Capitol this morning wheeling a small luggage bag. "We're stuck."

On Dec. 15, the Senate probably will vote on the funding measure, according to a Democratic aide who sought anonymity because the situation remains fluid. A vote is set for 1 a.m. tomorrow to clear the way for final action.

In a preview of the type of rebellion that could create headaches next year, Lee blocked a procedural motion to take up the spending bill after McConnell, apparently, thought he'd reached a deal with Reid. McConnell had already left the Capitol when Cruz, around 10 p.m. Washington time, took to the floor to criticize McConnell.

• Immigration Fight

Cruz and Lee are demanding the Senate defund the president's immigration orders as part of the bill, a fight that almost derailed legislation in the Republican-led House. Because House Speaker John Boehner couldn't break conservative opposition, he turned to Democrats for votes.

It was only after a five-hour standoff in the House on Dec. 11 - including phone calls to hesitant Democrats from President Barack Obama and Cabinet members - that a handful of Democrats agreed to vote for the bill and it passed, 219-206, just hours before funding was set to lapse.

Democrats oppose a banking provision in the bill that they see as a giveaway to Wall Street banks including Citigroup Inc., urging lawmakers to take it out.

"Washington already works really well for the billionaires and the big corporations and the lawyers and lobbyists," Warren, of Massachusetts, said on the Senate floor last night. "But what about the families who lost their homes or their jobs or their retirement savings the last time Citi bet big on derivatives and lost?"

• Banking Language

The banking language, insisted upon by Republicans, would ease rules enacted to protect taxpayers against bank losses after souring derivatives trades helped cause the 2008 financial crisis.

There is a chance, according to a Democratic aide, that government funding, which is set to expire at midnight, could technically lapse tonight or tomorrow morning unless the Senate acts. The federal government is closed for the weekend.

Before adjourning for the year, the Senate also plans to vote on renewal of a group of expired tax breaks and terrorism risk insurance, as well as confirming several nominees to executive and judicial posts. The House has finished its work.

The dispute over the banking rule also is a preview of Republican plans to roll back other business regulations when they take control of both congressional chambers in 2015.

Cruz and Lee had threatened to use all possible procedural tactics to add language to the spending measure blocking implementation of Obama's immigration order. The president said Nov. 20 that he would temporarily halt deportations for about 5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., a move Republicans, including Cruz, describe as amnesty.

• Cruz Opposition

It wasn't the first time Cruz has interrupted the parliamentary process to make clear his opposition to legislation. Last year, Cruz led the drive to defund Obamacare that resulted in a 16-day partial government shutdown.

"Senator Cruz continues to pursue a vote on defunding the president's amnesty," his spokeswoman, Catherine Frazier, said.

The banking provision, which prompted vehement opposition from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrats and held up a vote, would let JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup and other lenders keep swaps trading in units with federal backstops.

Separately, a campaign provision that Democrats oppose would permit a tenfold increase in donations that individuals can make to national political parties each year, to $324,000 from $32,400.

It would let donors give $97,200 a year to each of three party committees for conventions, to pay for building funds and to finance the expenses for recounts and legal challenges to election results.

A deal on the spending bill was announced Dec. 9 after Senate Democratic negotiators accepted the banking rule changes and Republican demands on other policy provisions.

Though Democrats weren't pleased about some of the provisions, they said they beat back dozens of others that Republicans had sought, including revisions focused on environmental and labor protections.