[Cboldt]

-- his position as leader gave him the right to bring the bill up again if he had voted against it on the first go. --

That's "half correct."

It doesn't matter if the person moving for reconsideration is leader or not, although it is customary for the leader to move for reconsideration.

The person moving for reconsideration must be on the "winning" side of the vote. In this case, cloture failed, so the winning side is the "no" vote.

Now, here is some parliamentary procedure that about 80% of the people posting on this board "don't get." ...

• When a cloture vote fails, the subject is not killed. The subject is STILL under unlimited debate. When a cloture motion passes, the subject is still alive, and debate is limited. People think failed cloture kills the bill, because the leaders drop the subject. But procedurally, the subject is still alive.
• When a cloture vote fails, the proponent can file another cloture motion. There is no limit to the number of cloture motions that can be applied to a single matter. McConnell could have voted on the losing side of this cloture vote, and get another cloture vote just by filing another cloture motion.

McConnell did not "have to" move to reconsider. he could have filed another cloture motion, and had another cloture vote.

[old curmudgeon]

Thank you for the time and effort to educate us.

Much appreciated.

Under the circumstances it would seem evident that the bill is not buried.