Dems fail to win over more Republicans in push to open government
by John Siciliano
| January 11, 2019 12:19 PM
The Democratic leadership on Friday failed to pick up any additional Republican votes on a spending bill to open the Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Only 10 Republicans voted for the measure, leaving the final vote tally at 240-179. The vote is the latest sign that Republicans are digging in their heels to oppose any new spending bills that don't include adequate funds for President Trump's border wall.
On Thursday, 12 Republicans voted for a bill to reopen the Department of Transportation, and 10 voted to reopen the Department of Agriculture. Democrats are calling up the bills in the hopes of putting pressure on GOP lawmakers to start voting for the bills as the shutdown continues.
Democrats spent the morning trying to persuade their Republican colleagues to join them in opening the government, calling Trump's insistence on $5.7 billion for the wall a source of self-inflicted punishment.
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., called the shutdown a source of “Republican inflicted damage.†He said the administration's priority of continuing the leasing process for natural gas, oil drilling, and mining on federal lands has gone on unabated during the shutdown, while members of Indian tribes go without adequate healthcare.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., attempted to sway the GOP by insisting there are other ways to guard the border without funding Trump's wall.
“We can hire more personnel,†she said. “We must have more people to do the job here,†which "is what the administration has asked for," she added.
The 10 Republicans voting for the Democratic bill on Friday were Reps. Rodney Davis, Ill.; Brian Fitzpatrick, Pa.; Jamie Herrera Beutler, Wash.; Will Hurd, Texas; John Katko, N.Y.; Adam Kinzinger, Ill.; Chris Smith, N.J.; Elise Stefanik, N.Y.; Fred Upton, Mich.; and Greg Walden, Ore.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/dems-fail-to-win-over-more-republicans-in-push-to-open-government