Sen. Harry Reid Pulls Earmark-Pocked, $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill

The $1.1 trillion spending bill, weighted down with unpopular earmarks, died on the Senate floor Thursday night, meaning the country is running out of time in the fiscal year to pay its bills. The current spending authorization runs out Saturday.

The bill didn't die a natural death. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yanked it after he discovered Democrats didn't have the support to get it passed. Reid said he will begin immediately to work with Republicans on a compromise popular enough for at least a short-term funding plan.

Congressional Republicans admitted they wanted to "run out the clock" until fresh troops ride to the rescue in January. Add to that the fact that the GOP was being pressured by tea partiers angry over the mountain of earmarks in the bill and all of a sudden the Democrats found themselves steering into a perfect storm.

Reid, D-Nev., said later that nine GOP senators who had promised him their votes changed their minds at the eleventh hour. "A number of Republican senators told me they'd like to see this pass, but they can't support it," he told CNN.