Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.
Several House Republicans broke with Trump and voted with Democrats to pass 2 bills that would end the government shutdown
Several House Republicans broke with Trump and voted with Democrats to pass 2 bills that would end the government shutdown
Sarah Gray,Sarah GrayJan 4, 2019, 13:48 IST
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gestures during the first session of the 116th Congress at the U.S. Capitol January 03, 2019 in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Advertisement
The House of Representatives voted on two bills to fund federal agencies on Thursday night, which, if passed by the Senate and signed by President Donald Trump, would end the partial government shutdown.
A handful of Republicans broke with Trump and voted with the Democrats to reopen the government.
Trump has previously insisted no bill to fund the government will be signed without $5 billion in funding for a border wall.
Here are the Republicans who broke with Trump and voted with Democrats.
Republican members of the House of Representatives joined Democrats to pass legislation to fund the government on Thursday night, which, if passed by the Senate and signed by President Donald Trump, would end the partial government shutdown.
House Joint Resolution 1 and House Resolution 21 - neither of which includes funding for Trump's desired wall along the US-Mexico border - were passed largely along party lines. All 234 members of the Democratic majority voted in favor, while many GOP lawmakers voted against the measures, which were nearly identical to the Senate's stopgap measure passed in December, ahead of the shutdown.
However, there were a handful of Republicans who broke with Trump and voted with the Democrats to reopen the government. Trump said prior to the shutdown and the holiday recess that he would not sign a bill to fund the government if it didn't contain $5 billion in funding for a border wall.
Five Republicans voted for H.J. Res. 1, which makes "further continuing appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes." (It funds the DHS until February 8, according to CNN reporter Manu Raju.)
Advertisement
Seven members of the GOP voted for H.R. 21, which makes "appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes," funding the other government agencies impacted by the partial shutdown.
Here are the Republicans who broke with Trump to fund the government:
Rep. Will Hurd, who represents the 23rd District in Texas, voted for both H.J. Res. 1 and H.R. 21.
Rep. Hurd is a former CIA officer who represents a district that includes a stretch of land along the border.
He has been an outspoken critic of Trump's proposed wall, and according to CNN, "has authored bipartisan legislation that would support border security but focus more on technology and strategy than a physical wall."
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania's 1st District voted for both H.J. Res. 1 and H.R. 21.
In the 2018 midterm elections, Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent, ran as an anti-Trump Republican, and he's voted out-of-step with the president on multiple occasions.
In 2017, Fitzpatrick signed onto an amendment put forth by the aforementioned Rep. Will Hurd that would "prevent the use of funds to build any physical barriers, including walls or fences, along the border until the secretary of Homeland Security submits a comprehensive border security strategy to Congress," The Hill reported.
Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey voted for H.J. Res. 1 but not H.R. 21.
Rep. Smith of New Jersey's 4th District has said in the past that he supports Trump's wall. He voted for H.J. Res. 1, but against H.R. 21.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York's 21st District voted for both H.J. Res. 1 and H.R. 21.
Rep. Elise Stefanik has previously criticized Trump's border-wall proposal. "I don’t think a wall is the best model," she said in 2017 according to The Post Star.
"But I do think we need to get serious about border security on the southern border,” she said.
Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan's 6th District voted "no" on H.J. Res. 1 but "yes" on H.R. 21.
On December 21, Upton was one of eight Republicans to vote against the stopgap funding measure that included money for Trump's proposed wall.
The Hill says, in the past, Upton has "advocated for legislation that ties 'border security to ending family separations at the border and giving 'long-term stability' to Dreamers."
He believes that the wall is suitable in some instances but that other options may work in other areas.
Rep. Peter King of New York's 2nd District voted for H.R. 21 but against H.J. Res. 1.
King is against the shutdown but for the wall, according to News12 Long Island.
"You give the president close to $5 billion for the wall; you give the Democrats DACA," King said, according to News12. "You set in motion a plan where, as the border becomes more secure, the 11 million people who are here illegally now can get a status and perhaps work toward citizenship."
