Same-sex marriage codification faces Senate procedural vote Wednesday

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Wednesday will start work on a lengthy list of bills they hope to pass in the lame-duck session by holding a procedural vote to advance legislation to codify the right to same-sex and interracial marriages into federal law.

The Democrats’ to-do list includes raising the debt limit, approving a spending bill to keep the government open, enacting an updated version of the law on counting electoral votes for president and passing more aid to Ukraine as it defends itself against the Russian invasion.

“The bottom line is we want to get things done, and we proved last time in a 50-50 Congress that we could,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters after the weekly party caucus luncheons Tuesday.

But Republicans, feuding among themselves over their failure to win the Senate and their likely narrow control of the House, made clear they would not go along with all of the Democrats’ wish list.

“The people in this country who on many of the big issues are very divided elected a divided Senate, so we are going to be sort of battling it out again over a lot of the big issues of the day,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican.

Schumer has avoided laying out a complete agenda for the lame-duck session until after he meets again with his caucus and talks with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

After Republicans failed to win control of the Senate, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said he would challenge McConnell for his leadership post.

McConnell said he had the votes to win.

Senate Republicans could vote on leadership positions Wednesday.

McConnell pinned the blame for the unexpected Republican losses on former President Donald Trump and his top supporters, without identifying them by name.

“We underperformed among independents and moderates because their impression of many of the people in our party in leadership roles is that they’re involved in chaos, negativity, excessive attacks. And it frightened independent and moderate Republican voters,” McConnell told reporters after the caucus luncheons.

Schumer has made the Respect for Marriage Act his top priority after putting off a possible vote planned before the elections at the request of sponsors, who said they could get more Republicans to vote for it after Election Day.

On Monday, a bipartisan group of five senators proposed an amendment to protect “religious liberties” affecting marriage in a bid to gain more Republican votes.

The act would codify into federal law the rights and protections of marriages between two individuals of any sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.

It also would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as between a man and a woman, which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2015, because of concern the high court’s new conservative majority might overturn that ruling.

The procedural motion needs 60 votes to pass to end a filibuster.

Backers of the Respect for Marriage Act then would need only a simple majority for the final vote, which likely will come after Thanksgiving.

Schumer, House Democrats and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also are expected to push for a vote to raise the debt ceiling during the lame-duck session.

"I'd like to get a debt ceiling done in this work period. The best way to get it done — the way it's been one the last two or three times — is bipartisan," Schumer said Tuesday.

"I intend shortly to sit down with the Republican leader and try to work that out,” Schumer said.

McConnell indicated Tuesday he would not support raising the debt limit this year.

But McConnell parted ways with Republicans questioning U.S. aid to Ukraine.

“I’m a robust supporter of Ukraine. We need to get them what they need to continue to fight this war,” McConnell said. “I think they have the capacity to win it particularly if we give them what they need.”