Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate on Thursday blocked a surprise vote that would have repealed the military’s ban on openly gay service members.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, joined 40 of her GOP colleagues in voting against the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Fifty-seven senators, mostly Democrats, voted for the repeal, but were three votes shy of the 60 needed.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted to repeal the policy.

Speaking at a press conference immediately following the vote, Collins expressed dismay at Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s decision to push the vote before Congress ratified the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts.

Collins said she wanted the “don’t ask” vote to come after the tax-cut vote so that there was adequate time for debate and amendments.

Snowe, in a written statement, said her vote against the repeal was due to the inadequate time for amendments to the Defense Reauthorization bill, into which the “don’t ask” repeal had been inserted.

Snowe’s office declined to identify which specific amendments the senator was seeking, only that the proposed repeal should be included as a separate bill and that her vote Thursday did not relate to the “don’t ask” policy.

“The 17-year-old ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy should have been considered apart from the comprehensive Defense Authorization bill, respecting the sensitive nature of the issue and providing ample time for floor debate,” Snowe said in her statement.

“Unfortunately, these shenanigans have short-circuited consideration of this repeal, and any opportunity to move forward with this discussion has been undermined by the majority’s desire to score political points in the remaining days of this legislative year,” Snowe said.

Collins, in a joint press conference with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn, said there was no reason the Senate couldn’t vote on “don’t ask” after the tax-relief extension.

“I’m extremely perplexed that (Reid) would walk away from negotiations — that were going well — for a premature vote that he knew wouldn’t succeed,” Collins said.

Some liberal pundits had questioned Collins’ motives for supporting the repeal, writing that she was using her support as leverage for other GOP initiatives. However, that criticism diminished slightly after the senator announced that she and Lieberman had introduced a free-standing bill to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Lieberman said he had assurances from Reid that the stand-alone bill would be heard before the end of the lame-duck session. Reid has reportedly signed on as a co-sponsor.

“It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” Lieberman said. “I’m confident we’ve got the 60 votes.”

Snowe’s office declined to say whether the senator would support the stand-alone bill. However, her statement included language suggesting that the policy should be considered separately from the Defense Reauthorization bill.

smistler@sunjournal.com

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