Lisa Desjardins:

I will start by looking at what’s in the chamber near me. This is what history at a pivot point looks like, a mostly empty House chamber where staff has been waiting for some three hours. They have been frozen on this vote, which is a procedural vote.

The idea is to get to the rule vote, which is a procedure that is needed to essentially open the door to get onto the big budget bill. But right now, the door to the big budget bill remains closed. And that is because of conservatives and others in the House conference, the Republicans, who say they’re just simply not ready yet to vote yes on this bill.

This led to a dilemma for House Speaker Mike Johnson. I watched him on the House floor going one by one, trying to convince members to vote yes for these procedural votes. But, in the end, he left the chamber and was stoic as he walked out of the chamber.

This video we have from Kyle Midura, our producer, showed he was on the phone trying to figure out a way out. Now, in just the past hour or so, Speaker Johnson has been more optimistic. He told reporters that he thinks the bill, not just the procedural votes, but the bill itself could pass tonight.

I mean, it’s already dinnertime on the East Coast. So that is optimistic, but it is not impossible. And it is a matter of negotiations between Republicans and other Republicans right now.