Trump-backed criminal justice bill likely to pass before Christmas
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan criminal justice bill was on track Wednesday to receive a vote in the Senate next week — and to almost certainly pass into law — with the only question being how much Sen. Tom Cotton will prolong the process.
“We’ve got 79 committed yes votes on this bill. I think by the time we vote on it, it will be in the high 80s,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a key backer of the legislation, on Fox News radio.
But when the Senate votes, and how close to Christmas senators have to stay in Washington, will depend on how Cotton — the Arkansas Republican who has been the most strident opponent of the bill — plays his cards.
A Democratic senator told Yahoo News that the bill’s imminent passage was due in large part to “pressure” applied to President Trump by Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. The effort has been a priority for Kushner and will be his first major accomplishment if it passes.
The senator added that Kushner and his allies intentionally “didn’t play hardball” with Trump because they thought that would backfire.
But Cotton has been an intractable critic of the legislation, to the point that he has provoked Lee, one of the most mild-mannered members of the Senate and the furthest thing from a Trump acolyte, into calling some of his complaints about the bill “100 percent fake news.”
If Cotton objects to expediting the process of moving to a final vote, that could push the Senate into working up until the final days before the Christmas holiday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., warned Tuesday that the criminal justice bill could push the Senate into a session after Christmas and before New Year’s, but a spokesman for Lee said that even if Cotton dragged out the process, they could vote on final passage next weekend.
Cotton’s office was noncommittal Wednesday when asked if he would agree to shorten the process, and on how many amendments he would seek to offer. Lee’s office said that they would oppose efforts by Cotton to bog things down with an excessive number of amendment votes, but would support a reasonable number, between three and five.
“It will just depend on what the majority leader and bill supporters offer,” said Cotton spokeswoman Caroline Tabler. “We have yet to see any time agreement offers on our end.”
The legislation would reduce mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for nonviolent drug offenses, increase funding for job training to reduce recidivism, expand credits for early release, and ban shackling of pregnant inmates as well as solitary confinement for juveniles.
Hunter Walker contributed to this report.
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