“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) is pitching fellow Republican senators on a last-ditch gambit to block Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget resolution: Skip town. Mr. Graham believes a united Republican caucus can deny Democrats the 51 votes needed for quorum by leaving the capital en masse, citing the example of Texas Democrats, who fled their state to prevent the GOP-controlled legislature from enacting stricter voting laws. He said he is driven by his opposition to immigration provisions that Democrats might include in their resolution. ‘If they put in amnesty in… that’s an assault on the system as we know it,’ Mr. Graham said. ‘We should use any tool in our box to stop it.’ The Democrats’ plan is expected to set aside $120 billion for establishing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers – immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children – as well as other groups that could include farmworkers, according to Senate aides.”

“Budget reconciliation may offer Democrats a way to sidestep some partisan gridlock and advance President Biden’s policy objectives. Some GOP senators are open to the quorum-busting idea, but others are skeptical, leaving Mr. Graham with a lot of convincing to do. When senators tried a similar trick decades ago, Capitol Police physically carried one of the fugitive lawmakers back onto the floor. Senate Democrats scoff at the threat. Mr. Graham’s notion, put into play by the current 50-50 split in the Senate, has surfaced as longstanding norms and decorum are eroding on Capitol Hill… Mr. Graham’s plan might not work, even temporarily. Quorum is assumed in the Senate unless someone asks for a quorum call, so Republicans would need at least one GOP senator in the chamber to make the request. That Republican could duck out and hide, but then Democrats could request unanimous consent to end the quorum call, a senior Democratic aide said. With no Republican present to object, quorum would be assumed again, and Democrats would be free to pass any bills they wanted unilaterally, the aide said” – Wall Street Journal.