Senate

The 17 Republicans who voted to advance the Senate infrastructure bill

by Jordain Carney - 07/28/21 7:39 PM ET

Seventeen Republican senators voted with all 50 Democrats on Wednesday to advance a bipartisan infrastructure deal, in a win for President Biden and the bipartisan group of negotiators.

The vote — the first of several steps expected before the Senate decides whether or not to ultimately pass the bill—comes one week after all Republicans blocked a similar move, arguing that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was rushing the process as senators tried to finalize their agreement.

But the group announced earlier Wednesday that it had reached a final agreement with the White House for a $1.2 trillion bill over eight years, with $550 billion in new spending. Because the group is still finalizing text, the Senate is taking up a shell bill that it will swap the language into once it is complete.

At least 10 Republicans were needed to advance the bill. In the end, Democrats were able to net 17 GOP votes:

Roy Blunt (Mo.)

Richard Burr (N.C.)

Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.)

Bill Cassidy (La.)

Susan Collins (Maine)

Kevin Cramer (N.D.)

Mike Crapo (Idaho)

Lindsey Graham (S.C.)

Chuck Grassley (Iowa)

John Hoeven (N.D.)

Mitch McConnell (Ky.)