On Monday night, the U.S. Senate voted for cloture on the misnamed Respect for Marriage Act (H.R.8404) – meaning no more amendments can be made to the legislation and setting up a final passage vote in the Senate, likely later this week. In this evening’s 61-35 vote, 11 Republicans joined Democrats in advancing the bill, which – if made law upon the president’s signature – overturns the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act.
It took more than two hours for the voting, held up just short of the 60 votes needed for approximately an hour. At the end of the delay, two GOP senators stepped forward to register their “aye” vote: Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming (vote #59) and Todd Young of Indiana (vote #60). They were among the 12 Republican senators who joined the Democratic majority on November 16 to move the bill forward.
