Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has reportedly pledged to hold a Senate vote on the Antisemitism Awareness Act before the end of the year. The National Defense Authorization Act, which has yet to pass the Senate, is seen on Capitol Hill as a potential vehicle to which the AAA could be attached and could pass the Senate. 

The AAA, which passed the House by a wide margin and boasts bipartisan support, has yet to receive a vote in the Senate. It faces some opposition from progressive-minded Democratic senators in Schumer’s caucus, as well as a handful of right-wing Republicans who oppose the AAA on free speech grounds, though it likely has at least the 60 supporters needed to pass.

But Schumer is still holding his plans close to the vest: “Senator Schumer is working on a bipartisan bill that can pass,” spokesperson Angelo Roefaro told Jewish Insider last week.

The AAA’s lead sponsor, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) — who is reportedly pressuring Schumer behind the scenes has introduced the bill’s text as an amendment to the NDAA. 

“The rise in antisemitic incidents on campuses and in communities around the Nation since October 7th is appalling,” Casey said in a statement. “Congress has an obligation to do everything it can to protect students and ensure they can go to school without facing discrimination. I’m exploring all options to pass my Antisemitism Awareness Act, including potentially passing it as an amendment to another piece of legislation.”

Back home, Casey has faced criticism from his Republican opponent in the Senate race, Dave McCormick, who accused him in an op-Ed this week of not pushing Schumer to call a vote on the legislation.

“Bob Casey is the leader on fighting antisemitism in the Senate and is endorsed by AIPAC and other leading Jewish groups,” Casey campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel added in a separate statement. “David McCormick has no credibility on this issue after he invested millions in Rumble, a website that platforms hate where Holocaust denial has ‘found a home,’ according to the Anti-Defamation League.”

On one hand, moving the legislation — which has committed detractors on both sides of the aisle — would likely be easier and attract less attention as an amendment to the NDAA. NDAAs and other similar packages are frequently used as a vehicle to pass all manner of legislation.

And, with the NDAA likely to move in the final days of the congressional session, after the election, political pressure would be less of a factor.

On the other hand, calling a vote on Casey’s amendment to attach the AAA to the NDAA won’t be a seamless process, with two possible paths forward.

In one scenario, Democratic and Republican leadership would need to agree, overruling flanks of both parties opposed to the bill, to include it in an amendment package, which would require  60 votes to pass. Senators within both parties would likely protest such a move behind the scenes.

Alternatively, Senate leadership would need to make a deal with senators opposed to the bill to secure a stand-alone amendment vote. That would likely entail granting holdout senators votes on priority amendments of their own, another path fraught with political peril for Senate leaders.

One factor that could work in the bill’s favor: the vote will likely come close to the winter holidays, with many senators eager to wrap up business and leave town, potentially less willing to dig in for a heated floor fight over the legislation.

Even if it passes the Senate, the AAA language would also have to survive conference negotiations between the House and Senate. While the bill passed the House by a strong bipartisan margin, the legislation has attracted further controversy since then.

Many of the same difficulties also apply to the Countering Antisemitism Act, which has also been submitted as an amendment to the NDAA in the Senate, but hasn’t yet passed the House.

Bringing the bill to the Senate floor for a standalone vote would require different technical steps, but involves similar political considerations behind the scenes. Sixty votes in support would be needed on both a procedural cloture motion and the final bill. The legislation would likely receive both, but could open up political divisions, particularly among Democrats.