The Senate on Thursday night approved more than a dozen nominations to key trade and financial posts by unanimous consent.

Among those confirmed were Michael Punke as a deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR), and Islam Siddiqui a chief agricultural negotiator at USTR.

Senate Republicans late Thursday night criticized Senate Democrats for voting against a bill that would repeal a much-maligned tax rule that both Republicans and Democrats agree should be scrapped.

The Senate voted 57-43 against the repeal of the rule, which would require governments at all levels to withhold 3 percent of their payments to contractors and vendors. A coalition of industry groups and governments have said the cost of this provision would exceed the expected tax revenues it would generate, and President Obama himself has said the rule — now delayed until the end of 2012 — should go.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) adjourned the Senate at 2:30 a.m. on Friday after one of the longest legislative days so far this year. The upper chamber is set to return for a pro forma session on Monday Oct. 24, and return for legislative work on Monday Oct. 31, at 3 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called-off the remainder of the slated amendment votes early Friday morning citing weary staff and set the wheels in motion for a final passage vote on the underlying appropriations package once the Senate returns from recess. 

Reid assured roughly a dozen senators whose amendments had not yet seen a vote that the Senate would revisit their proposal when it returns from the break in 10-days.

The final vote of the night inserted the Senate’s appropriations bill into a House bill giving the tacit approval of the upper chamber by a resounding 83-16.  At least one more vote will be required, however, in order for the legislation to officially report out of the Senate. 

Early Friday morning the Senate continued to plod through around 25 votes on proposed amendments to the pending appropriations “minibus" with the of aim completing work on the legislation and begin a week-long recess.

The so-called "vote-O-rama" afforded the rare site of every senator seated at their assigned desk voting in alphabetical order when their name was called by the clerk for each amendment. 

An amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to prohibit payments of subsidies to persons with an average income over $1 million, cleared the Senate Thursday night by a vote of 84-15.

Coburn argued forcefully to his colleagues, who were seated at their desks for the series of rapid-fire votes, that such payments from a government that is running in the red were preposterous.

A list of the votes that were taken in the Senate on Thursday night and early Friday morning, as they occured, on proposed amendments to the spending "minibus," H.R. 2112:

Following test votes on the GOP and Democratic jobs bills the Senate began moving through 25 votes on proposed amendments to the pending appropriations “minibus" with the aim completing work on the legislation and beginning a week-long recess.

The measure, which would have spent $35 billion for states to hire teachers and first-responders, won 50 votes.