Reid postpones Senate vote on immigration

Senate negotiators racing against the clock to complete a bipartisan immigration bill will have one more day to work, as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced on the floor Friday that he would wait to file cloture on last year’s immigration measure.

{mosads}While senators on both sides of the aisle have made good on promises of flexibility during their marathon meetings on the issue, chances were slim for a complete deal by Reid’s previously set deadline of Tuesday. Reid is now likely to move for cloture Monday on last year’s immigration bill, which won 23 Republican votes but is likely to draw a GOP filibuster this time around.

A Monday filing would allow the handful of senators and Bush administration officials slightly more room to finish a bill that most describe as a broad outline that is far from legislative language.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hailed Reid’s decision from the floor: “That gives us the maximum opportunity to piece back together the bipartisan agreement that we thought we almost had a week or so ago on this most important legislation.”