War Room

Report: Reid will go forward with public option vote

The public option is just short of passage, but the majority leader reportedly wants to bring it to the floor

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.

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