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WATCH: Behind the Scenes Signing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal

The White House goes behind the scenes at the signing ceremony of the landmark repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", interviewing Capt. Jonathan Hopkins, who was discharged under the policy and Rep. Patrick Murphy who led the charge in the House of Representatives. White House Domestic Advisor Melody Barnes, who last year at this time made headlines regarding her support of marriage equality, also was interviewed.

Former U.S. Army Lt. Anthony Woods, the Harvard and West Point graduate who earned a Bronze Star after leading an 81-soldier combat unit in Iraq and was later discharged under DADT, can be seen at :30. Watch the video  WHEN YOU JUMP ...

House Approves "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal in 250-175 Vote

The House of Representatives has approved HR 2965, the new bill to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The 250-175 majority shows considerable momentum toward repeal. The tally is 16 votes higher than a similiar measure that passed by the House in May 2010. There were 15 Republican votes today, as opposed to only 5 GOP votes last May. And also last May there were 26 Democrats opposed, this time there were only 15. Both bills were introduced by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), an Iraq war veteran.

A separate measure is pending in the Senate.

House Expected to Vote on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Today

The House of Representatives is expected to begin debate and vote today on a new bill to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The bill was introduced yesterday and is identical to the stand-alone repeal measure introduced in the Senate last week, reports the Washington Blade.

On Tuesday, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House. Drew Hammill, spokesperson for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said a vote on the bill will take place on Wednesday. The plan was to have a vote in the House and to send the legislation to the Senate as a “privileged” bill, which would allow the Senate to take up the measure without having a cloture vote on the motion to proceed.

The maneuver would skip the 60 votes needed for the motion to proceed with the legislation and shave off the 30 hours of time that is normally needed after cloture is filed to vote on whether to end debate. Still, even with this plan, the Senate would need 60 votes to proceed to final passage of the legislation.

Murphy, an Iraq war veteran, is the sponsor of the DADT repeal amendment that passed the House by an historic 234-194 vote in May 2010.

Passage in the House is expected. The prospects in the Senate, of course, are murkier. Sam Stein at the Huffington Post offers some insight:

In a wide range of interviews with individuals working on Senate strategy, the path forward has begun to emerge. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will push to bring the bill to the floor sometime early next week, a Senate leadership aide said, ideally with legislation on tax cuts and the budget complete. Reid may have to fill the tree with amendments -- thereby setting in stone how the debate process plays out. But if he does this without accommodating Republican requests, it could give senators the cover they need to oppose the measure on procedural grounds.

More likely, Reid will grant the GOP a chance to air its proposed amendments and hope that they lack the support to stick. If one does pass, the bill would have to be sent back to the House, prolonging the repeal process or even threatening it, depending on the changes.

"Is it an ambitious strategy, yes," said Aubrey Sarvis, an Army veteran who serves as executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. "But it is a viable option, a realistic one."

Reid warned yesterday that he’ll call the Senate into session after Christmas to address the unfinished business of the lame duck session, such as the START treaty, DREAM Act, and DADT repeal. "Congress ends Jan. 4," said Reid. "And we’re going to continue working on this stuff until we get it done."

VIDEO, PHOTOS: Obama's Remarks at White House LGBT Reception

President Barack Obama spoke for about 15 minutes at the White House LGBT Pride Reception earlier this evening. The President spoke to a group of about 300 attendees, smaller than last year's event, and mostly state/regional and youth leaders, as opposed to national activists and policy makers.

Watch the event and read the transcript AFTER THE JUMP ...

The President named a number of incremental advances, such as the order to grant hospital visitation rights, limited expansion of federal benefits, banning gender identity discrimination in federal employment, expanding federal leave policy and today's announcement to expand the Family Medical Leave Act.

The President also briefly mentioned larger ticket items such as repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, passing the Employment Nondiscrimination Act and the recent action taken on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Obama told the crowd: "Here’s the bottom line: We have never been closer to ending that discriminatory policy.”

"The fact that we have activists here is a reminder that change never comes—or at least never begins—in Washington," President Obama said. "It is when ordinary people out of love for a mother or a father, a son or a daughter, or a husband or a wife, speak out against injustices that have been accepted for too long."

Video, more photos, the read the transcript and a partial list of invitees AFTER THE JUMP ...

WATCH: John Lewis, Barbara Lee, Pat Murphy, Steny Hoyer on DADT

Civil rights veteran and Georgia Democratic Congressmen John Lewis delivered a powerful speech comparing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to the racial segregation that he fought as a Freedom Rider. Said the congressman: "It was wrong then and it was wrong now!"

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was also on fire, rebuking right-wing anti-gay rhetoric. Watch these fabulous two speeches, as well as Barbara Lee and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal sponsor Patrick Murphy WHEN YOU JUMP ...

WATCH: House Votes 234-194 to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The House of Representatives voted tonight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", the 17-year-old policy that permits gays and lesbians to serve in the military only if their sexual orientation remains secret.

The 234-194 vote will attach Rep. Patrick Murphy's (D-PA) amendment  to the National Defense Authorization Act now moving through Congress. Earlier tonight, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 16-12 to approve a similar measure.

Five Republicans supported the repeal: Judy Biggert (Illinois), Joseph Cao (Louisiana), Charles Djou (Hawaii) , Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Florida) and Ron Paul (Texas). Twenty-six Democrats voted against the amendment.

The measure allows Congress to vote now to repeal the current law. Actual implementation begins after completion of the Pentagon Working Group study due December 1 and upon certification. The "compromise" would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and return "open service" authority to the Pentagon. Non-discrimination language would not be included. As of yet, there is no deadline and the Associated Press speculates the process could take "several years" or more.

Watch the final vote and a short report AFTER THE JUMP ...

House Floor Debate on DADT

It's happening right now. Watch CSPAN1 or houselive.gov.

Senate Armed Services Committee Votes 16-12 to Repeal DADT

By a 16-12 vote, the Senate Armed Services Committee has approved the Levin-Lieberman Amendment. The amendment begins the process of dismantling the 17-year-old "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prohibits gays and serving openly in the military. This is the first time Congress has ever attempted to repeal the ban in its nearly 17 year history.

The roll call is AFTER THE JUMP ....

The language was submitted by SASC Chairman Carl Levin (MI) and Joseph Lieberman (CT) as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. The measure allows Congress to vote now to repeal the current law, but, actual implementation begins after completion of the Pentagon Working Group study due December 1 and upon certification. Since the amendment has passed committee, it would require 60 votes to strip repeal from the bill during the floor debate. Background HERE and HERE.

Susan Collins of Maine was the sole Republican on the panel to approve the measure. Virginia's Jim Webb was the only Democrat to vote against it. The vote was held in closed session. Fifteen votes were needed for passage.

Rep. Patrick Murphy will offer similar language as an amendment to the NDAA on the House floor later tonight or tomorrow. Murphy and Speaker Nancy Pelosi expect the amendment to pass.

UPDATE: The House is debating now. Watch CSPAN1 or Houselive.gov.

The roll call is AFTER THE JUMP ....

 

REPORT: Sen. Ben Nelson to Cast Key YES Vote on DADT Repeal

Sen. Ben Nelson will announce that he is voting YES on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal compromise, reports Open Left.

Only last week, the conservative Nebraska Democrat announced he would not vote for repeal before the Pentagon finished its year-long review. "Nelson’s support brings the total number of votes in the Senate Armed Services Committee to 15," reports the Wonk Room. "Enough to attach the delayed-implementation amendment (offered by Lieberman (I-CT)) to the Defense Authorization measure on Thursday. When the amendment passes in committee, it would require 60 votes to strip repeal from the bill during the floor debate."

In related news: The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld writes the White House has been largely missing in action on DADT repeal and had to be "drag[ged] across the finish line."

"The White House and Gates seemingly didn’t want a vote this year. Activists wouldn’t let up. Murphy, Levin, and Lieberman put in a heroic effort to salvage repeal. And in my estimation, when Levin was one vote away in the Senate committee, White House officials realized the repeal train was leaving without them and not hopping aboard was a no-win situation. If it passed, they would get no credit; if it failed by one vote, activists would castigate them for withholding support. This compromise could still fail, and make no mistake, the deal was brokered by the White House, which then treated it as the redheaded stepchild it never wanted in the first place. But the outcome — win or lose — now has the administration's fingerprints on it, even though its refrain since Monday morning has been that Congress was forcing its hand."

Politico reports the Speaker Pelosi, Levin, Lieberman and Rep. Patrick Murphy "forced" the White House to get involved at the 11th hour. "'They got the message, I think, actually really from Pelosi that [Congress was] going to try to do this with or without the White House. ... They could be part of it or not be part of it,' said Richard Socarides, liaison to the gay community under President Bill Clinton. 'She figured if Congress tried to get something done and failed, the White House would be blamed. If it tried to get something done and succeeded, and they stood on the sidelines, they’d look like jerks, and it would sort of make the president look bad. It was her leadership and her willingness to be out in front on this at the end that forced their hand.'"

White House Endorses "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Compromise

The latest on today's efforts to reach a compromise on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by the White House, the Defense Department, gay rights lobbyists and lawmakers ....

The White House has endorsed the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal compromise reported earlier, according to emails sent to Rod 2.0 and published reports. "Delayed implementation" retains the current policy until the Pentagon Working Group study is completed. The President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs will later sign-off on implementation.

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orzsag:

"The Administration is of the view that the proposed amendment meets the concerns raised by the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The proposed amendment will allow for completion of the Comprehensive Review, enable the Department of Defense to assess the results of the review, and ensure that the implementation of the repeal is consistent with standards of military readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting and retention. ...The Administration therefore supports the proposed amendment."

The statement responds to a request for input from Senators Joseph Lieberman and Carl Levin and Rep. Patrick Murphy. The three pro-repeal lawmakers have been trying to build support for repeal this year via the National Defense Authorization Act. A vote is expected Thursday.

The White House response HERE (pdf).

The DADT repeal amendment  HERE (pdf).

The "compromise" would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and return "open service" authority to the Pentagon. Non-discrimination language would not be included. As of yet, there is no deadline and the Associated Press speculates the process could take "several years" or more.

Pro-repeal advocates welcome the announcement. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's Aubrey Sarvis says today's developments are a "dramatic breakthrough" that should ensure repeal will be attached to the NDAA.