Senate Democrats and a handful of Republicans filibustered Thursday a vote on a short-term spending bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood. Not only did the the legislation fail to gain the 60 votes necessary for it to move forward, a bipartisan majority — 52 to 47 — voted against it.
Eight Republicans — including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) — joined Democrats in blocking the legislation.
GOP leaders had reportedly hoped that the vote would be enough to assuage conservatives threatening a government shutdown over the $500 million or so in federal funding that goes to the reproductive health organization.
The White House had already made clear President Obama would have vetoed the legislation.
According to Politico’s Seung Min Kim, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has told members the Senate will hold a vote on Monday for a “clean” temporary spending bill that would maintain government funding — including Planned Parenthood’s — at its current levels for a few months while a larger budget deal is worked out.
