Bipartisan bill to prevent future coup schemes still has a chance – By Steve Benen (MSNBC) / Dec 13, 2022
A bill to reform the Electoral Count Act is starting to look more likely. That would be a very positive development for everyone — except coup plotters.
In theory, the pieces appear to be in place to pass legislation to reform the Electoral Count Act. A bipartisan agreement is in place; it’s already cleared the House; and even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has offered unexpectedly enthusiastic support for the measure.
In practice, the challenge is figuring out how to pass it before the new Congress is sworn in three weeks from today. NBC News reported:
“The government funding bill is likely the last train leaving the station in the current session of Congress, and a number of other provisions could ride along. Chief among them is a major overhaul of election laws, designed to prevent another Jan. 6 by making it harder for losing presidential candidates to claim victory. Senators have struck a deal on a bill that cleared committee on a bipartisan vote of 14-1 in September.”
The plan, by all appearances, is relatively straightforward: Congressional leaders are working on an omnibus spending package that would finance the government through the end of the fiscal year and prevent a shutdown. Just over the last 48 hours, there’s been some progress on reaching an agreement, which would need 60 votes to advance in the Senate.
