Sen. Joni Ernst said her closely watched amendment seeking to maintain wind and solar tax credits will not get a Senate vote before the anctipated passage of the GOP megabill.

“I don’t think they’re going to let us” offer the amendment, the Iowa Republican told reporters Tuesday morning as GOP leaders rushed to put finishing touches on the bill. “There’s a lot of stuff that went on overnight that kind of waylaid our plans.”

Ernst’s amendment would echo an earlier proposal to phase down the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean electricity production and investment tax credits for solar and wind generation projects by linking to when projects begin construction. It would also eliminate an excise tax proposed by Republicans that would penalize any wind and solar project placed into service after 2027 if it includes material assistance from China or other prohibited foreign entities.

Ernst was joined on the amendment by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

It’s possible that the amendment or part of it could be included in a final “wraparound” amendment GOP leaders are expected to offer ahead of a final vote. Murkowski, considered a swing vote on the overall bill, was in intensive talks early Tuesday morning with Majority Leader John Thune and other Senate leaders.

Josh Siegel, Kelsey Tamborrino and James Bikales contributed to this report.

Senate conservatives are dropping their push for a vote on scaling back a key Medicaid funding mechanism, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and allies were expected to get a vote on an amendment to scale back the federal share of Medicaid costs for those enrolled under the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid starting in 2031. Senate leadership backed the proposal and were expected to help build support for it as part of a deal cut earlier this week to start debate on President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill.

But Republicans were wary of enacting such a deep cut despite other provisions in the megabill that would decrease Medicaid funding by nearly $800 billion. Several GOP senators warned Monday they did not support making changes to the federal march for Medicaid enrollees.

A spokesperson for Scott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While the amendment is being withdrawn, Scott’s fight highlights how far Republicans have been willing to go to curb the Medicaid expansion, a cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans argue the expansion enables able-bodied adults to get coverage at the expense of beneficiaries with disabilities and the elderly.

The federal government traditionally covers half of all Medicaid costs and the state picks up the rest. But the federal government covers 90 percent of costs for expansion enrollees. Under Scott’s proposal, that extra funding would shrink down to 50 percent after 2030. Anyone who was enrolled prior to that date would be grandfathered at the 90 percent payment rate.

While Trump himself has said he does not want to cut Medicaid benefits, an estimated 11.8 million people are expected to lose coverage if the megabill becomes law by 2034, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The number would likely balloon if Scott’s amendment passed.

John Cornyn is not going down without a fight.

After months of polls showing the four-term Texas senator trailing in the Republican primary, a pro-Cornyn super PAC raised almost $11 million in the most recent fundraising period.

Texans for a Conservative Majority, the outside group supporting Cornyn in his primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, will have over $12 million cash on hand after the current fundraising quarter. The group has raised over $10.9 million in the quarter after Paxton announced his primary challenge against Cornyn.

Cornyn has been consistently trailing polls in the Senate primary against Paxton, whose indictment and impeachment over corruption and bribery charges left him well regarded by conservative grassroots activists loyal to Donald Trump but viewed skeptically by Republican operatives worried about his reception among swing voters in a midterm election.

“This first report shows what the armchair pundits fail to realize — this race is only beginning in earnest,” Aaron Whitehead, the executive director of the outside pro-Cornyn group, told Blue Light News. “With eight months to go before the March primary, Texans for a Conservative Majority is well positioned to take the fight to Ken Paxton and independently support Senator John Cornyn’s re-election.”

Texas’ primary will be held on March 3, 2026.