Thune says Senate Republicans have a deal to pass Trump megabill

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Tuesday morning that he thinks he has a deal with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to pass President Trump’s tax and spending megabill — but also cautioned he’s a “realist,” indicating he’s not counting anything as finished until the final vote is cast.

Asked if he had a deal as he walked from the Senate floor to his office, Thune replied, “I believe we do.”

“But, like I said, I’m of Scandinavian heritage, so I’m always a bit of a realist. We’ll see what happens,” he said.

Thune’s body language appeared significantly more relaxed after he and Murkowski reviewed a sheet of legislative text on the Senate floor while Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) hovered nearby.

Thune was spotted alongside Murkowski poring over the document at a desk near the back wall of the Senate chamber shortly after 8 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

A person familiar with the floor conversations said the Senate parliamentarian had approved revised language to soften the impact of Medicaid cuts and food assistance cuts on Alaska.

Robert Duncan, the secretary of the Republican majority, and Gary Myrick, the secretary of the Democratic conference, were spotted in a discussion with the parliamentarian at the Senate dais a short time later.

The deal with Murkowski breaks a deadlock that lasted throughout Monday night and into Tuesday morning.

Thune, Crapo and Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) thought they had secured Murkowski’s vote by crafting language to provide an enhanced federal Medicaid match for Alaska and a waiver to shield the state from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cuts.

But Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough threw a wrench into those plans by ruling the initial Medicaid and SNAP provisions designed to help Alaska didn’t comply with the Byrd Rule and therefore weren’t eligible to pass the Senate with a simple-majority vote.

Republican leadership and committee staff then spent hours Monday and early Tuesday morning to craft language that could secure the approval of both Murkowski and the parliamentarian.

The situation looked dire for Thune and other Republicans only a few hours earlier.

Murkowski appeared to resist the entreaties of Crapo and Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on the floor around 3:30 a.m. before she walked into Thune’s office for a meeting.

When Thune and Murkowski emerged from the majority leader’s office to walk back to the floor, a reporter asked Thune if he would have to pull the bill.

“Those are options I don’t want to have to worry about,” Thune told reporters.

Even shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday, Thune wasn’t completely sure he had Murkowski’s support.

A person familiar with the leadership’s deliberations said Thune was planning to move forward with a vote to see for sure where Murkowski stood on the legislation after hours of haggling over Alaska-related provisions.

The Senate started its marathon series of procedural and amendment votes related to the bill shortly after 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Thune put the Senate chamber into an extended quorum call around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday to give senators a rest and GOP leadership staff and Finance Committee’s staff more time to put the finishing touches on the deal with Murkowski and the final legislative text of the Senate bill.

Thune can afford to lose three Republican votes and still pass the bill, with Vice President Vance casting a tiebreaking vote. Vance arrived at the Capitol as the sun rose.

Updated at 11:29 a.m. EDT