Senate nears relief bill votes after half-day GOP delay

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is steering toward a voting marathon on Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that’s expected to end with the chamber’s approval of the measure. That comes after a Republican foe of President Joe Biden’s top legislative priority forced an extraordinary half-day holdup on the bill. Moments after the Senate took up the legislation Thursday, Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson forced the chamber’s clerks to read aloud the entire 628-page measure. The exhausting task took 10 hours and 44 minutes and ended shortly after 2 a.m. EST Friday. The chamber planned to begin voting around midday on a mountain of amendments.