On the Motion to Table
U.S. Senate, Standing Rules of the Senate
A vote to set the amendment or motion aside without debate. Read it backwards: a Yea to table an amendment is a vote to reject that amendment.
- A Yea meant:
- Table it — which rejects the amendment or motion.
- A Nay meant:
- Keep it alive, so the Senate can still vote on it directly.
A motion to table is decided without debate (Senate Rule XXII, paragraph 1). The Congressional Research Service: if a majority votes to table an amendment, “the effect is to reject the amendment” (CRS 98-425).
Tabling an amendment does not affect the bill it would have changed: the bill stays before the Senate (Senate Rule XV).
Sources
- Standing Rules of the Senate, Rules XV and XXII
- CRS 98-425, Invoking Cloture in the Senate (Apr. 6, 2017)
Checked against these sources on 2026-10-12.