Top House Dem predicts repeal of 'Don't ask, don't tell'

Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, predicted Wednesday the House will pass the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

He also predicted bipartisan support for the repeal in both the House and the Senate.

The House Rules Committee will decide Wednesday whether to allow an amendment sponsored by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) that would scrap the ban on gays in the military but delay the repeal implementation until the Pentagon finishes studying its implications on the armed forces. 

It is highly likely the Rules Committee will send the amendment for a floor vote. That vote could come up as early as Thursday or on Friday under a separate rule, congressional sources said.

“Patrick Murphy is pretty courageous, with respect to this,” Larson said in an interview Wednesday.  “I would suspect that there is wide bipartisan support for this in both chambers.”

It is yet unclear whether either the House or the Senate have enough votes to pass the repeal of the Clinton-era law, but gay-rights activists and congressional supporters of repeal have ramped up their efforts to gain enough votes for passage.

In an interview with The Hill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she wanted to end the ban by the new year.

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