Thirty House Republicans are calling on their leadership to continue to stand firm against calls for a so-called “clean” Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill — or one free of House-passed riders blocking President Obama’s executive amnesty.
In a letter dispatched Wednesday to House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) the lawmakers, led by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), argued that the House must continue to fight against Obama’s executive actions using the “power of the purse.”
“American voters supported our position of opposing executive overreach during the November elections, and are solely responsible for giving us control of the Senate as well as a historic majority in the House,” the Republicans wrote.
They further thanked leadership for “standing firm and forcing the Senate to act” on the House-passed DHS bill and called on them to continue the fight.
“Regardless of how we may feel about immigration issues generally, the issue at hand is the preservation of the separation of powers and the preservation of the Constitution,” they added. “Now is the time to stand firm against these unlawful executive actions.”
On Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acquiesced to the demands of Democrats and announced he would allow a clean DHS bill to come to the floor. Yet, Wednesday morning, Speaker Boehner remained firm that the Senate must act.
“The House has done its job to fund the Department of Homeland Security and to stop the president’s overreach on immigration. And we’re waiting for the Senate to do their job. Senate Democrats have stood in the way now for three weeks, over a bill that should have been debated and passed. So until the Senate does something, we’re in a wait-and-see mode,” Boehner told reporters.
Wednesday afternoon, the Senate, on a 98-2 vote, moved to open debate on the DHS bill with McConnell’s assurance that the House-passed provisions defunding Obama’s executive orders would be stripped from the package.
In addition to Duncan, Reps. Dave Brat (R-VA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Bradley Byrne (R-AL), Gary Palmer (R-AL), Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), Curt Clawson (R-FL), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Randy Weber (R- ), Ted Yoho (R-FL), Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), Mo Brooks (R-AL), John Fleming (R-LA), Mark Sanford (R-SC), Steve King (R-IA), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Lou Barletta (R-TX), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Brian Babin (R-TX), Steven Palazzo (R-MS), Jeff Miller (R-FL), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Martha Roby (R-AL), John Duncan (R-TN), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Walter Jones (R-NC), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) all signed the letter.
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