The bill faces vehement opposition particularly from Sen. Tom Cotton.
The Senate is slated Tuesday night to pass the biggest overhaul to the criminal justice system in decades, giving a win to President Donald Trump and a bipartisan group of advocates and lawmakers.
Tuesday’s vote caps more than a year of negotiations to create more rehabilitation programs and ease mandatory minimum sentences for some drug-related crimes.
The bill has brought together many unlikely allies, including a group backed by the conservative Koch Brothers, the American Civil Liberties Union, the White House and senators from both sides of the aisle.
Although the bill was a priority for Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was reluctant until last week to bring to the floor legislation that divides his caucus. Trump had personally lobbied the majority leader to bring the bill up for a vote.
“This is a big bipartisan bill,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley Tuesday before the vote.
