Reid withdraws cloture vote, aiming for trimmed down version

Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) withdrew his cloture motion Tuesday night, setting up several votes during the next couple of days, including one on an expected trimmed down Democratic substitute on a $140 billion tax extenders bill. 

Senate Democrats didn't appear to have enough support through Tuesday to end debate on the bill. 

At 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday the Senate will vote to waive a budget point of order on a substitute amendment offered by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.). If the motion doesn't get 60 votes, the amendment will be withdrawn. 

Next, the Senate will take up a Republican alternative offered by Sen. John Thune (S.D.), and will hold a vote Thursday on the motion to waive the budget act. If the motion doesn't get 60 votes, the amendment will be withdrawn. 

If either the Baucus or Thune amendments receive 60 votes they will remain pending. 

Meanwhile, Baucus is expected to piece together a trimmed down substitute that will probably cut the Medicare "doc fix" from 19 months to one year and possibly cut the extra $25 a week that has been included in unemployment benefits checks for past 18 months. The amendment is expected to include $24 billion in federal medical assistance percentages (FMAP) funding provided to states for Medicaid. 

Centrist Democrats on Tuesday said they were having difficulty supporting a bill that included $84 billion in deficit spending. Lawmakers were trying to make several tweaks to the bill to garner enough support before the weekend. 

The bill includes a nearly $40 billion extension of unemployment benefits through November, which expired earlier this month.