These Republicans Joined Dems on Shutdown

The House of Representatives passed two bills last week intended to end the partial government shutdown.

A handful of Republicans broke with the administration and voted in favor of ending the shutdown without allocating funds for a border wall.

Business Insider reports:
 

Some Republican members of the House of Representatives joined Democrats on Thursday night to pass legislation that would fund the government and end the partial government shutdown if passed by the Senate and then signed by President Donald Trump.

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 new 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.

There were a handful of Republicans, however, who broke with Trump and voted with the Democrats. Trump has said he will not sign legislation to fund the government that doesn’t contain $5 billion in funding for a border wall.

Here are the Republicans and their voting records:

1.) Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) voted for H.J. Res. 1, making “further continuing appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes” (to reiterate – H.J. Res. 1 doesn’t contain $5 billion in funding for a wall). Hurd also voted for H.R. 21, which simply funds all government agencies affected by the partial shutdown.

Hurd’s district covers roughly one-fourth of the U.S.-Mexico border.

2.) Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) voted for both H.J. Res. 1 and H.R. 21.

Fitzpatrick has repeatedly distanced himself from the president. He ran (mostly) in favor of Trump’s agenda but against his behavior and narrowly won in the upscale Philadelphia suburbs. 

He’s on record supporting an amendment by Rep. Hurd to “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.”

3.) Rep. John Katko (R-NY) voted for both H.J. Res. 1 and H.R. 21.

Katko represents one of the few Clinton districts held by a Republican after the 2018 elections. 

Katko identifies as a moderate, automatically igniting the ire of conservative constituents. He serves as cochair of the moderate Tuesday Group caucus on Capitol Hill.

4.) Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) voted for H.J. Res. 1 but not H.R. 21.

Smith, the last surviving Republican member of New Jersey’s congressional delegation after the November elections, has said he supports Trump’s oft-mentioned wall.

5.) Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) voted for both H.J. Res. 1 and H.R. 21.

Stefanik has criticized Trump for what she perceives a one size fits all approach to border security. 

While running for re-election last year, she told the press “I don’t think a wall is the best model… But I do think we need to get serious about border security on the southern border.”

6.) Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) voted for H.R. 21 but not H.J. Res. 1.

Before the shutdown, Upton voted against the stopgap funding measure that including resources for Trump’s wall.

According to The Hill, Upton has previously advocated for “legislation that ties ‘border security to ending family separations at the border and giving ‘long-term stability’ to Dreamers.”

He believes a wall is appropriate along certain vulnerable sections of the border.

7.) Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) voted for H.R. 21 but not H.J. Res. 1.

Walden has served as the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, successfully protecting the Republican majority in the House during his tenure.

His voting record typically aligns with Trump.

8.) Rep. Peter King (R-NY) voted for H.R. 21 but not H.J. Res. 1.

King is against the shutdown for the wall, believing a compromise should’ve been reached by the administration and congressional Democrats earlier when the president was offered sufficient funding for border security in exchange for a DACA deal.