Schumer to force reading of 1,000-page GOP mega bill, delaying it by half a day

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) told Democratic senators Saturday that he will force the clerks to read the 1,000-page Republican megabill on the Senate floor once Republicans vote to proceed to the legislation, a procedural act of defiance that will take an estimated 12 hours and delay final passage of President Trump’s agenda by half a day — at least.

Schumer told his caucus to prepare to force a full reading of the bill, according to a Democratic source familiar with the internal discussion over floor strategy.

The question is whether Senate GOP leaders will force the clerks to read the bill late into Saturday night and early Sunday morning to complete the time-and energy-consuming task or whether staff will get some time to sleep before the Senate is expected to launch into a multi-hour series of votes known as a vote-a-rama.

Senate Republicans were anticipating that Schumer might force a reading of the bill as an act of protest.

Schumer’s action comes as Senate Republicans are hustling to pass President Trump’s massive tax and spending bill by the president’s assigned July 4 deadline. GOP leaders were initially planning for an initial procedural vote Saturday afternoon, followed by up to 20 hours of debate and then an unlimited series of amendment votes known as a vote-a-rama.

With Schumer’s push, the expected timeframe for the “vote-a-rama” has been pushed back.

It remains unclear if Republicans have the votes to advance the Senate’s version of the spending bill. Senate Republicans can only afford to lose three votes, and three lawmakers — GOP Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Ron Johnson (Wis.) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) — say they will vote “no.”

Updated at 6 p.m. EDT.

Sarah Polus and Regina Zilbermints contributed to this report.

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