Defense News reports “that a controversial bipartisan spending plan would be easier to push through the US Senate than a military policy bill was unthinkable not too long ago. But that has become Washington’s latest bewildering political reality.”

“Since the onset of Barack Obama’s presidency, the Democratic-run Senate was, for the defense and other sectors, the more predictable congressional body. After all, it was the GOP-controlled House that was more chaotic, with a superconservative Republican wing feuding with its leadership and pushing the nation to the brink of fiscal calamity.”

“But suddenly, the script has flipped. Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are waging a rhetorical and procedural fight over the chamber’s rules and Majority Leader Harry Reid’s handling of Republican amendments.”