A $1.7 trillion spending bill is on its way toward a vote in the House of Representatives after clearing the Senate on Thursday, and with it, a measure that aims to prevent another Jan. 6 insurrection.
Eighteen Republican senators voted with Democrats for the sprawling bill, which includes reforms to what’s known as the Electoral Count Act. Language is aimed at resolving any ambiguity about whether the vice president can overturn the vote of the Electoral College — as former President Donald Trump claimed was possible around the time of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The bill makes clear that the vice president’s role is simply ministerial.
GOP senators voting for the bill included Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Mitt Romney of Utah, both of whom have clashed with Trump. The former president called the spending bill a “disaster” and urged all Republicans to vote against it.
Here’s the full list of the GOP senators who bucked the former president, courtesy of a Fox News reporter’s tweet:
The expected passage of the bill by the House comes a day after the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection published its final report. The report asserts that Trump — who recently announced another White House run — criminally engaged in a “multipart conspiracy” to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
