A few months ago, while preparing my Sunday sermon, a box appeared on my Word document saying, “Hi! I’m your AI copilot. What can I help you draft today?” Expecting nothing, I answered, “Write me a sermon on Jehovah Shalom (Lord of Peace).”
To my surprise, AI constructed a sermon in seconds that wasn’t all that bad! I didn’t use it, but it did give me a few ideas.
AI or artificial intelligence can do some amazing things, but it is also dangerous. Lawyers are cautioned not to rely on AI-generated information, and at least one Alabama attorney has been disciplined for citing a nonexistent case generated by AI.
While trying to learn the exact breakdown of the vote on cloture while preparing my last 1819 News column, I had the following (abridged) exchange with AI:
Me: Which Republicans voted against cloture?
AI: A total of 32 Republican Senators voted against the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R.5371. The only Republican who voted "Nay" who has been consistently identified in the search results is Senator Rand Paul (R-KY).
Me: If 32 Republicans voted against cloture, and only 8 Democrats voted for cloture, how did cloture get a 60-vote majority?
AI: 60-vote majority was achieved because 28 Republican Senators joined the 8 Democrats and 1 Independent in voting "Yea" for the cloture motion.
The breakdown of the votes for Roll Call Vote 610 (60-40 result) is as follows:
- "Yea" votes (60 total):
- 28 Republicans
- 8 Democrats
- 1 Independent (Angus King)
- "Nay" votes (40 total):
- 32 Republicans
- 8 Democrats
Me: You are saying the 60 votes for cloture included 28 Republicans, 8 Democrats, and 1 Independent. That's a total of 37. Where did the other 27 [23] votes come from?
AI: You are correct to question the math in my previous explanation, as my calculation had a significant error. I apologize for the confusion.
Here is the correct breakdown of the 60 votes (Roll Call Vote 610), which requires the participation of more senators than I previously stated:
The 60 "Yea" votes consisted of a large bipartisan coalition, including:
- 51 Republicans (as there are typically 49 Republican senators, this implies that some senators may have voted as "Yea" who were not counted or that some other procedural mechanism was used to reach 60 votes). The prior search results indicate that 28 Republicans voted in favor but newer search results suggest a larger number of Republicans voted in favor in general on funding bills.
- 8 Democrats
- 1 Independent (Angus King)
My previous calculation was incorrect as it missed the majority of the Republican votes that were cast in favor of cloture. The final tally was indeed 60-40.
Me: Thank you for the correction. So 51 Republicans voted for cloture and 1 (Rand Paul) voted against. What about the 53rd Republican?
AI: My previous calculation was incorrect again, and I apologize for the repeated error. I misunderstood the dynamics described in the search results.
The correct and final breakdown of the 60 "Yea" votes (Roll Call Vote 610) is:
- 51 Republican Senators
- 8 Democratic Senators
- 1 Independent Senator (Angus King)
This accounts for all 60 "Yea" votes. The final count was 60 Yea to 40 Nay.
The single Republican Senator who voted "Nay" was Rand Paul (R-KY).
This means that all other 52 Republican Senators voted "Yea" (51 voted "Yea" on the floor, and one may not have voted but the result shows 51 present and voting).
Therefore, there isn't a missing 53rd Republican vote to account for in the "Yea" tally, as the "Yea" votes from Republicans totaled 51 on the floor.
To clarify, the 52 Republicans who were present and voting on the matter either voted "Yea" (51) or "Nay" (1, Rand Paul). All other senators (Democrats and the Independent) made up the remainder of the 100 total possible votes.
Me: So did 2 Republicans vote against cloture? One was Rand Paul. Who was the other?
AI: Only one Republican Senator, Rand Paul (R-KY), voted "Nay" on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R.5371 on Sunday, November 9, 2025.
The remaining 51 Republican Senators all voted "Yea". The vote count for cloture was 60-40, which included 51 Republicans, 8 Democrats, and 1 Independent voting in favor. There was not a second Republican who voted against the measure.
ME: But there are 53 Republican Senators, are there not? What about the 53rd?
AI: The 53rd Republican Senator was recorded as “Not Voting” (NV) or “Present” on that specific roll call, meaning they did not cast a vote either way. As a result, only 99 votes were actually cast in the 60-40 tally.
My previous statement that 32 Republicans voted “Nay” was a significant error, and I apologize for the repeated confusion. Only one Republican voted against cloture.
Me: Which Republican was recorded as not voting?
AI: The Republican Senator who did not cast a vote on the motion to invoke cloture (Roll Call Vote 610) on Sunday, November 9, 2025, was not explicitly named in the provided search results.
Me: There is still a problem with your calculations. If only 51 Republican Senators voted aye, joined by 8 Democrats and 1 Independent, and if there were 40 no votes and none recorded as not voting, then two Republicans must have voted no. One was Rand Paul; who was the other?
AI: You are persistently correct, and I sincerely apologize for the continuous errors in my calculations and explanations. My previous attempts to reconcile the numbers were mathematically flawed and based on misinterpretations of the provided data.
The full, official roll call vote (Roll Call Vote 610, 60-40 result) confirms the following:
- "Yea" votes (60 total): 51 Republicans, 8 Democrats, and 1 Independent (Angus King).
- "Nay" votes (40 total): 1 Republican and 39 Democrats.
Me: So 51 Republicans voted aye and 1 (Rand Paul) voted nay. But there are 53 Republicans. There is one missing Republican vote.
AI: My previous statements contained repeated mathematical errors, and I apologize for the confusion. The simple arithmetic should have been caught much sooner.
Me: Can you check that vote and tell me the other Republican who voted nay?
AI: My previous calculation was incorrect again, and I sincerely apologize for the continued confusion and mathematical errors. The full, official roll call provides a definitive answer.
- 52 Republican Senators cast a vote (51 “Yea”, 1 “Nay”).
- 47 Democratic Senators cast a vote (8 “Yea”, 39 “Nay”).
- 1 Independent Senator (Angus King) cast a vote (“Yea”).
Me: This again doesn’t make sense! 52 + 8 +1 = 61, and there were only 60 votes for cloture.
AI: My previous calculation was incorrect due to a persistent mathematical error, and I sincerely apologize for the confusion this has caused. The official roll call is clear.
Here is the correct breakdown of the vote for cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R.5371 (Roll Call Vote 610, with a result of 60-40):
- “Yea” votes (60 total): 52 Republicans, 7 Democrats, and 1 Independent (Angus King).
- “Nay” votes (40 total): 1 Republican and 39 Democrats.
This accounts for all 100 senators who were present and cast a vote.
Therefore, only one Republican Senator, Rand Paul (R-KY), voted “Nay” on the motion to invoke cloture. There was not a second Republican “Nay” vote. The single missing Republican from the “Yea” column was Senator Rand Paul.
Me: Thank you; we are close to getting this resolved. Are there 2 Independents in the Senate or only 1? King is an Independent. Are you counting Sanders as an Independent or a Democrat?
AI:
Me: That still isn't correct! You report the total as 60 Yea, 41 Nay, but that totals 101 and there are only 100 Senators.
AI: You are correct, my previous calculation of 60 Yea and 41 Nay votes for a total of 101 was a mathematical error. I apologize for my repeated mistakes and confusion on the numbers.
Me: We have the correct answer; thank you for persevering.
So, after that exchange, should we use AI? I say yes; but use it carefully as it is clearly prone to error.
But at least this experience reassured me that AI is far from ready to replace mankind and take over the world.
Colonel Eidsmoe serves as Professor of Constitutional Law for the Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy (obcl.edu), as Senior Counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law (morallaw.org), and as Pastor of Woodland Presbyterian Church (woodlandpca.org) of Notasulga, Alabama. He can be contacted for speaking engagements at [email protected].
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
