If Politico’s Glenn Thrush is right, we know what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will be announcing at that press conference of his a little later. Reid is reportedly ready to stick his neck out more than a little bit, and go ahead with a vote on the public option proposal he prefers, one that allows states to opt out, rather than the “trigger” version President Obama is said to favor.
There’s a problem, though: Reid doesn’t yet have enough votes to actually pass either version. Thrush reports, “Leadership sources tell me that Reid, who spoke with virtually every member of his 60-member caucus this weekend, currently has between 56 and 57 votes for the opt-out.” The trigger plan, meanwhile, has either 58 or 59 votes, Thrush writes.
Reid needs to assemble 60 votes in order to pass a cloture motion and defeat a Republican filibuster.
