The 8 House Republicans who voted against Trump’s border wall
The House on Thursday passed a stopgap government funding bill by a 217-185 vote that would stave off a partial government shutdown.
Its inclusion of $5.7 billion in border wall funding, however, likely makes it dead on arrival in the Senate, leaving both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue without a backup plan as President Trump digs his heels in on his demands for wall funding.
Here are the eight House Republicans who voted against the measure.
Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.)
Amash, an outspoken fiscal conservative and member of the House Freedom Caucus, was one of the two among the group, including several firebrands, to vote against the measure and oppose border wall funding.
{mosads}“This massive, wasteful spending bill—stuffed with unrelated items—passed 217-185. It’s amazing how some wall funding causes my fellow Republicans to embrace big government. Watch out if Democrats attach wall funding to Medicare for All. The bill could be called Medicare for Wall,” he said about the stopgap bill.
This massive, wasteful spending bill—stuffed with unrelated items—passed 217-185. It’s amazing how some wall funding causes my fellow Republicans to embrace big government. Watch out if Democrats attach wall funding to Medicare for All. The bill could be called Medicare for Wall. https://t.co/BtQvdazCtI
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 21, 2018
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.)
Buck, the other House Freedom Caucus member to vote against the bill, went against caucus leaders Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) as they pushed Trump to not back down from his demand for border wall funding. He told Colorado Public Radio this month, however, that a border wall shouldn’t be the cause for a government shutdown.
“I think sending federal workers home before Christmas without knowing when and if they’ll have a job is wrong,” he said.
“Americans want border security. It is clear the Senate Democrats are acting irresponsibly. I hope they are shamed into a very, very small price to pay for the wall and to really enhance border security and get this country moving forward on a very important issue.”
Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.)
Curbelo, who lost a reelection bid in November, has been a frequent Trump critic, particularly over the White House’s demands on immigration. He helped introduced a bill earlier this year that tied border wall funding in exchange for a path to citizenship for two million young undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, commonly referred to as “Dreamers.”
“I think there’s no plan here, there’s no end in sight to the current crisis yet again,” Curbelo said about the shutdown Thursday on MSNBC.
Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas)
Hurd, a House moderate who won reelection in November by less than 1 point, has pushed for a “smart border wall” that uses “cutting edge” technology to protect the border rather than a physical wall.
“The American people sent us up here to get things done, and the only way we can get things done is by working together,” he tweeted Thursday.
The American people sent us up here to get things done, and the only way we can get things done is by working together. pic.twitter.com/yVWhP5vVra
— Rep. Will Hurd (@HurdOnTheHill) December 20, 2018
Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.)
Paulsen, who lost reelection by double digits in November, has long opposed border wall funding. He’s said he supports tighter border security and wants to crack down on people living in the U.S. without documentation, but also wants a fix allowing Dreamers to stay in the country.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.)
Ros-Lehtinen, who was the first Latina elected to Congress, announced earlier this year she would be retiring at the end of her term. Democrats flipped her seat in November. She refused to come out in support of a border wall while representing her majority-Hispanic district and torched the Trump administration earlier this year for its “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which resulted in an increased number of family separations at the border.
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.)
Upton has said that a border wall may be appropriate in some areas of the border, but that different security measures “may be sufficient” in other areas. He’s advocated for legislation that ties “border security” to ending family separations at the border and giving “long-term stability” to Dreamers.
Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.)
Valadao, who lost reelection by less than a point in November, ripped the Trump administration earlier this year on family separations and been a supporter of tying border security legislation to a fix for Dreamers.
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