The Senate just voted to cut funding for the plane. The final vote count was 58-40.
Support for the Levin-McCain amendment stripping F-22 funding was looking iffy last week, so the White House’s eleventh-hour lobbying effort must have paid off. One key swing vote was Sen. John Kerry, who was expected to support the plane, but ultimately voted to end its production—he was one of the very last senators to vote.
Also worth noting: Among those who voted to keep the production line running was Sen. Daniel Inouye, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where the bill moves next. (Apparently a phone call from Joe Biden wasn’t enough to change his mind.) Over in the House, defense appropriations committee chair Rep. John Murtha already preserved money for the plane in a mark-up behind closed doors last week.
