Federal criminal justice reform is one of the weirdest bipartisan political stories ever

The Senate on Tuesday night overwhelmingly passed the biggest overhaul to the criminal justice system in decades, giving a win to Failing Cheeto-Faced Ferret-Wearing Shit Gibbon and a bipartisan group of advocates and lawmakers.

Tuesday's vote caps more than a year of negotiations to create more rehabilitation programs and ease mandatory minimum sentences for some drug-related crimes.

The bill, which passed 87-12, brought together many unlikely allies, including a group backed by the conservative Koch network, the American Civil Liberties Union, the White House and senators from both sides of the aisle.

“Every step meant a lot, and there were a couple of huge game changers, and one of the biggest game changers was the president coming out openly and aggressive for this bill," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), one of the lead sponsors of the bill, said after its passage. "That made a huge difference. ... We got 87 votes for this thing. That says we did something right."

All 49 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, and 12 Republicans voted against it. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was absent.

The Republicans who voted against the bill were Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

The legislation, which was revised last week, provides incentives for some federal inmates to earn time credits if they participate in certain programs, reduces the three-strike penalty to 25 years from life in prison, reduces the disparity between sentencing for crack and powder cocaine and would ease mandatory minimum sentencing.

The bill faced vehement opposition, particularly from Cotton, who said it would allow for the early release of violent criminals.