Nelson Moves to Yes on FinReg; Reid Plans to File for Cloture

At the Huffington Post, Ryan Grim reports that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) has capitulated and decided to vote for financial regulatory reform legislation. Yesterday, he surprised reporters by announcing that he was not a firm yes for the bill, due to concerns over the leadership of the not-yet-existent consumer financial protection bureau.

With his vote — and the votes of Republican Sens. Scott Brown (Mass.), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Susan Collins (Maine), plus all Democrats save for Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) — the bill has the 60 votes necessary to gain cloture and move to a final majority-rules vote for passage. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he plans to file for cloture today, meaning the bill could become law as soon as Thursday.