Senators Have Votes, if Time Permits, to Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Sixty-one senators have now expressed support for repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, appearing to clear the way for passage if Democrats can bring the bill to a vote before the holidays.

But the timing of a potential vote on the legislation remains uncertain as lawmakers race to dispose of other major items in the days before Christmas. The House voted on Wednesday to approve the repeal and sent it to the Senate for passage.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, has remained mum about when the chamber might vote on the measure. But Mr. Reid has scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon where the subject could come up.

The White House press secretary Robert Gibbs declared Thursday that “I believe we have the votes” to repeal the ban on gay troops serving openly in the armed forces. And advocates who have been working the halls of the Capitol for weeks said they were hopeful.

“We now feel confident that we have the 60 votes necessary to get repeal done this session of Congress,” said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign.

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, went further, saying he believes there are at least 61 votes to repeal the ban. Mr. Lieberman, who has been leading negotiations with Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, on the legislation, called further delay unacceptable.

“We’ve got not 60, but now 61 members of the U.S. Senate publicly committed to the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” Mr. Lieberman said. “So all that will stop that repeal is a totally unacceptable refusal to bring our measure up in a timely way. We’ve got to get this done. We can get it done. It’s an injustice. It’s time for it to go.”

The comments came after several Republican senators announced they were ready to vote in favor of a stand-alone bill that would repeal the long-standing policy. Senators Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said Thursday that they would support it, a day after Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine did the same.

“Senator Collins, Brown and Murkowski’s commitment is proof that this unjust and discriminatory law will soon be a part of the dustbin of history,” Mr. Sainz said in a statement.

Despite the expressions of hope from supporters, Republicans have pledged not to proceed to other business until votes on the tax compromise and the budget have been completed.

That has kept repeal backers anxious. One advocate said a final vote on “don’t ask, don’t tell” could come as late as next Thursday – two days before Christmas – if lawmakers are willing to stay that long.

And procedural hurdles could still trip up the supporters, even if they have the 60 votes they need to get past a filibuster. Opponents of the repeal could refuse to waive objections that could add hours to the time necessary to get to a final vote.

As an interesting side-note, Senator-elect Pat Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, announced Thursday that he, too, supported repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and would vote for the pending legislation if he could.

Should lawmakers vote for repeal before the end of the year, Mr. Toomey’s stance would not matter. But his decision to announce his position today is a commentary on what advocates hope is building momentum for repeal.