Obama budget receives zero votes in Senate
By Jordan Fabian - 05/25/11 06:14 PM ET


No senators voted for President Obama's 2012 budget when it came up for a vote in the Senate Wednesday.

A procedural vote to move forward on the president's plan failed 0-97.

Just minutes earlier, the Senate failed to advance Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget plan by a vote of 40-57 as five Republicans voted against their party.

Democrats sought to put Republicans on the defensive over the Ryan budget, which they have described as extreme. But Republicans, who demanded a vote on Obama's plan, sought to flip the script after the later vote.

"The Senate just voted unanimously against proceeding to the president’s budget. That’s right, unanimous opposition to the president’s budget that spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much," said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) "Not a single Democrat voted for it. We’d vote on the Democrats’ budget, too ... but they don’t have one."

Obama followed his budget plan earlier this year with a speech at George Washington University, where he established a goal of cutting $4 trillion over the next 12 years.

Obama budget receives zero votes in Senate - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room