Thank you, Vice President Pence!
Vice President Pence on Thursday was called into the Senate to rescue legislation aimed at overturning a Obama administration rule that currently prevents states from blocking federal grants to abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood.
Senate Republicans made a motion to proceed to the legislation, and while a simple majority was needed to advance it, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted against it. That left the Senate in a 50-50 tie, which required Pence to cast the tie-breaking vote.
It’s the second time Pence has had to help the narrow 52-48 GOP majority in the Senate. He also cast the deciding vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as President Trump’s education secretary.