Biden: Democrats ‘have enough votes’ to repeal DADT

Vice President Joe Biden told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Wednesday that congressional Republicans won't be able to strip the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" from the pending defense authorization bill, despite high-profile threats that they plan to try.

Biden told the liberal talk-show host that Republicans on Capitol Hill may be "out there" enough to filibuster the entire defense bill over the proposed repeal of the military's ban on gay service members but that they still lack the votes to take out the amendment.

Biden is more confident that other members of his party. Neither Sens. Carl Levin or Harry Reid has said they have the votes. Today, Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman told The Advocate that Republicans will demand they be allowed to add their own amendments, but until an agreement is reached, "I don't think the votes are there to break the filibuster."

The vice president also said those who have been dismissed since the policy began in 1993 should be allowed to come back to the military. "I not only think we should repeal it, I think everyone who was fired should be able to be reinstated if they want to," he said.

The Senate is expected to debate the bill on Tuesday.

You can watch the full interview after the jump: