Infrastructure bill is ‘still being negotiated,’ Republicans to block key Senate vote, top GOP senator says
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, talks with reporters before the Senate Policy luncheons in the Capitol on June 5, 2018.
Tom Williams | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images
Republicans will vote against a key procedural vote Wednesday to proceed with debate on a bipartisan infrastructure bill in the Senate, lead negotiator Rob Portman said on CNBC.
“We’re just not ready,” the Ohio Republican said Wednesday morning on “Squawk Box.”
“The bill is still being negotiated,” Portman said, noting that Republicans have warned for days that “there’s no way we can pull this thing together” in time for the vote Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., set for later in the day.
“So we’re going to vote no,” Portman said.
“We just want time to get it right,” the senator said. He predicted that Republicans will be able to support the vote if it is pushed to Monday.
A spokesman for Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Portman’s remarks.
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