Sen. Mike Rounds told Newsmax on Friday that the Senate should hold a quick vote on the War Powers Act submitted by Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine so they can "proceed to the actual reconciliation bill" as quickly as possible.
The South Dakota Republican told Newsmax's "National Report" in an interview Friday morning: "We're moving in the right direction" on the reconciliation bill, adding that Republicans "hope to have a motion to proceed to the bill late this evening," though he noted that he's not sure that will happen.
"I think we'll get there in a reasonable fashion," Rounds said. "The best scenario would be to have a motion to proceed this evening after our vote on the War Powers Act that Sen. Kaine has teed up for us."
The senator said that if legislators "vote it down, we could have the opportunity for a motion to proceed to the actual reconciliation bill itself, at which time we've got up to 20 hours of debate before we start. Unlimited amendment process. I suspect Republicans would probably give back most of their 10 hours and try to get right into the into the amendment process sometime tomorrow."
Rounds later said, "the reconciliation process is primarily a Republican process," adding that "Democrats are not expected to vote for it whether they agree with it or not ... they won't vote for" the reconciliation bill.
"So you work with the individuals that you have a possibility of getting on board to vote for the final bill. We know that in the Senate ... it takes 51 votes to pass the bill. At worst case scenario, it would be 50 Republican members plus the vice president to break the tie.
Rounds said Republicans "think we'll get 51 or more in the final bill, but there won't be any Democrats that will support it."
The congressman said that some Democrats "have quietly come in and said, 'Hey, can you maybe add something over here, or can you put something in that would make the bill better when you get it passed?'"
Rounds said this shows that "there's a recognition that we're probably going to be able to get this put into law, and those colleagues who are working across the aisle will make suggestions, but we all know that they can't vote for the bill."
He said, "So you take their advice, you listen to what they have to say, and if we can make the bill better in that respect, we will. But it will be Republicans actually getting it done."
Rounds added that "There's a couple of folks that have made it very clear that they just simply aren't going to support the bill for philosophical reasons. You have to respect that. But you've still got to be able to get to the 51 votes. We'll get there. And when that happens, we'll get it to the House."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.