Senate likely to ratify New START today

By Michael J.W. Stickings

NYT:

An arms control treaty paring back American and Russian nuclear arsenals won a decisive vote in the Senate on Tuesday, clearing it for final approval and handing President Obama an important foreign policy victory.

The Senate voted 67 to 28 to end debate on the treaty, known as New Start, mustering the two-thirds majority needed for ratification despite a concerted effort by Republican leaders to sink the agreement. Eleven Republican senators joined every Democrat present to support the treaty, which now heads to a seemingly certain final vote of approval on Wednesday.

This would indeed be a big, big win for the president, not least because ratification could end up with almost 70 votes (despite McConnell's obstructionist opposition).

Stay tuned. (In the meantime, check out our foreign policy blogger Peter Henne's posts on the politics of New START here, here, and here.)