Thune sends senators sprinting with new voting stop clock

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is drawing rare Democratic praise — and some GOP grumbling, too — over a new rule that has senators sprinting to the Senate floor to cast their votes.

Senators now have 30 minutes to make their way to the chamber, or else GOP leaders will close the vote and record them as “not present.” The rule is designed to keep stragglers from holding up the entire body when multiple votes are scheduled in a row, though it does not apply to any that might be close.

The change, adopted by Senate Republicans in May, is forcing a level of discipline on senators accustomed to votes that in recent years had no time limit, often dragging on for 60 or even

Continue reading