As we told you earlier today, both Tom Cotton and Mike Lee voted against the White House Senate proposal to reopen the government. It would have funded the border wall.
At the time I was wondering why they voted against the bill. The answer is actually pretty simple, at least for Tom Cotton.
Fox News reporter Chad Pergram caught up with him and asked him about it:
Cotton on voting nay on ending debate on GOP plan to re-open gov’t: I could not support the bill because it gives legal status to illegal aliens without first securing our borders, implementing e-verify, and ending chain migration
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 24, 2019
DACA. Ok, that makes sense. I suspect that’s also why Lee voted against it as well.
Remember though, there wasn’t as much pressure on today’s bills given that they were expected to fail. Heck, not even all Republicans voted for Trump’s bill. I’m not saying Cotton or Lee wouldn’t have voted differently, but just that it’s easier to take a principled stand when there isn’t much pressure. If the Senate was just two votes away from passage on Trump’s bill, would Cotton and Lee still stand on principle? We may never find out the answer to that question, but I suspect they’d swallow hard and vote for it.
While we’re on the topic…
From colleague John Roberts. Sarah Sanders tells Fox News “The President would consider a CR only if it includes a down payment on the wall.”
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 24, 2019
WH’s Sanders Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Chuck Schumer are meeting now to see whether or not they can work out of the deadlock. As was made clear to Senator Lindsay Graham, the 3 week CR would only work if there is a large down payment on the wall
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 24, 2019
Graham: The way forward is clear to me: a three-week continuing resolution (CR) that includes a down payment on wall/barrier funding and priorities of Democrats for disaster relief, showing good faith from both sides. I strongly urge my Democratic colleagues to work with the WH
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 24, 2019
We’ll see…