Posted last night and moved up.

By 234 to 194 votes, the House of Representatives has approved an amendment to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"—the ban on gays in the military—as part of a larger military-spending bill. A similar amendment is also in the Senate, where it cleared committee this afternoon.

Five House Republicans voted to repeal the ban; 26 Democrats voted to maintain it—along with Washington's 8th District Republican Dave Reichert. Here's the full roll call.

This vote concerned the Murphy Amendment, which would repeal DADT after the Pentagon conducts a study that's due in December. It is a crafty strategy by the Democratic majority leading up to the mid-term elections. They can take an accomplishment back to their gay base, while potentially deflecting conservative criticisms, because this measure—at least before the November elections—is still technically just a review of the policy.

The house must still pass the full military bill (which seems inevitable by all accounts). And the Senate is right behind. Earlier this afternoon, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved a provision to repeal DADT by an 18-12 vote. It will then go to the full Senate floor, where Republicans, including John McCain, have suggested that they will try to block it with a filibusterer.