Politico:

Democratic opposition to moving forward on defense legislation without an Iran debate is rising in the Senate, raising the prospect that Democrats will block the annual, must-pass policy bill absent a compromise that would allow them a vote on a key amendment.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday afternoon they hoped to work out an agreement that would avoid a failed vote on the popular defense bill. In a sign of potential compromise, McConnell moved a vote for Wednesday morning to noon to allow more time to negotiate.

Democrats are "strongly united" on having a vote on whether to bar funds for war with Iran without congressional authorization before moving forward, Schumer said. Still, he did not explicitly say his caucus would vote down the bill if McConnell steamrolls the minority and moves to end debate on the measure on Wednesday.

"There's a strong belief that we need to take a vote on war in Iran. I can't speak for everybody in the caucus but I think there's a lot of sentiment that this is a moment to take a stand," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). "There's got to be a way ... it seems pretty pathetic that we're begging for one or two votes."

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) filed an amendment on Monday that could receive a vote alongside the Democrats' Iran amendment, which was written by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.). Romney's amendment would allow the armed services "to defend themselves, and United States citizens, against attack."

Republicans are weighing whether to hold votes on those two amendments this week, which could provide a possible solution for both parties and allow passage of the bill before the July 4 recess.

Democrats met for two hours on Tuesday afternoon, going back and forth on the merits of blocking a defense policy bill in order to force a debate on war and peace, senators said. Many Democrats went into the meeting undecided, though the Tuesday leadership meeting made clear that more and more Democrats were digging in for battle with McConnell.

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