$141b "Extenders" Bill to Fail Morning Test Vote (not cloture); Scaled-Back Bill to Come Forward

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has sought and was granted approval by Republicans to do away with Wednesday's cloture vote on the extenders bill. It would have failed anyway - this was conceded to by his own staff and members of his caucus.

The biggest concern? The nearly $80 billion that would have gone straight to the deficit.

There WILL be a kind of test vote Wednesday morning, though, that will fail to get 60 votes, so Reid can show liberals in his caucus and outside groups that he doesn't have 60 votes (read more info on that here).

It will be a "budget point of order" vote -- put in simple English: a YES vote means you agree that the budget should be set aside and the deficit increased with so-called "emergency" spending.

In short, the current $141 billion bill put together by Reid and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., will be PULLED --- i.e., it will be dead.

We'll see a replacement bill come forward that has scaled back benefits and has more items paid for --- less deficit spending.

Look to a provision by Sen. Jon Tester,D-Mont.,  to be included that trims back unemployment insurance checks.