(Yuri Gripas/Reuters)
With details of a "tentative agreement" emerging, the Senate is back in session for the cloture vote on Majority Leader Harry Reid's debt ceiling bill.
The Senate came into session at noon ET for an hour of debate. Reid said he is "cautiously optimistic" but a "number of issues" still have to be resolved and "we're not there yet."
He also said, "I am satisfied the compromise being discussed at the White House adopts the Senate’s long-term approach."
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also said this morning that "we're very close" to a deal.
TPM reports:
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) on his way into the Senate early this afternoon. Coons said Senate Democrats were concerned about not being involved in the negotiations over raising the debt ceiling.
Coons said there are "a lot of rumors" but "nothing confirmed" about the path forward on a debt deal.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Caucus is "sufficiently spooked."
Of course, the teabaggers aren't happy either:
Tea party activists are bracing for disappointment as negotiations on the debt ceiling move closer to a deal, but sending a clear signal to congressional Republicans that they are even less willing to tolerate compromise and more likely to seek retribution against anyone who has not fully supported their agenda. […]
“If the final bill is passed by establishment Republicans and House Democrats and does not include a balanced budget amendment as a requirement, it will be completely unacceptable and will be seen as a violation of the mandate that the tea party and likeminded people gave Republicans in 2010,” said Ryan Hecker, the leader of a crowd-sourced tea party effort called the Contract from America.
You can watch the Senate in action on C-SPAN here.
10:28 AM PT: The yeas are 50, the nays are 49. The motion is not agreed to. Reid enters a motion to reconsider.
10:39 AM PT: And the Senate is now in recess.