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(CNN) -
The United States Senate is preparing for a series of votes on politically difficult amendments, which could extend into the wee hours of the night and into the early hours of Saturday.
This is the last major hurdle senators face before voting on President Joe Biden's comprehensive covid-19 relief bill.
The long series of votes on amendments, known as “vote-a-branch,” is a Senate tradition that the minority party uses to bring controversial issues to the fore with majority members in an effort to make changes to a draft bill. law they oppose.
It will be a major test of Democratic unity at a time when Senate Democratic leaders have no margin for error, given the House's 50-50 partisan split, where Vice President Kamala Harris is the tiebreaker vote.
What is expected in the vote?
Democrats are under pressure to stand together to support the aid legislation, which has undergone some major changes in the Senate after the House of Representatives passed the bill last week before a final vote.
But Republicans are eager to try to take advantage of any divisions within the majority party.
"On the bright side, it's an opportunity to vote on some things that you wouldn't vote on in the normal course of business," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told reporters when asked to summarize the “vote-a-branch” process for those unfamiliar.
“It is an opportunity to see how the parties approach a particular topic, the good thing.
The flip side of the story is that it's kind of stupid. '
Kamala Harris promoted the project
The marathon effort to pass the $ 1.9 trillion legislation accelerated Thursday when senators voted in favor of open debate.
And in a sign of how thin the Democratic majority is, Harris broke the tie by pushing the bill.
But Republicans who oppose the legislation have been taking steps to prolong the process, starting with forcing the 628-page bill to be read aloud.
The Senate then has up to 20 hours for debate, followed by the “vote-a-branch” vote.
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Democrats expect the vote-a-branch to begin on Friday before noon.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, criticized Republican tactics to slow down the process on Thursday.
Schumer said that forcing the full reading of the bill "will just delay the inevitable."
In addition, he promised that "no matter how long it takes, the Senate will remain in session to finish the bill this week."
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Multiple Republican members and advisers familiar with the planning told CNN earlier this week that the plan is to try to eliminate Democratic members in some key amendment votes.
The goal is to demonstrate differences within the Democratic ranks, as well as to mature certain campaign moments that can be turned into political ads later on.
When asked how long it could last, Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the second Senate Republican, said: “It's indefinite.
There are many people who want to offer many amendments.
"I think we have very good amendments on the issues of the day," Graham told reporters when asked to explain the strategy.
"I'm focusing on taking the best step forward in terms of how we would do this differently, what we would do with your money as the American people, and what we think covid relief should be."
CNN's Ali Zaslav and Lauren Fox contributed to this report.
United States Senate relief package