Grinch roll call: Here are the senators who voted to shut down the government before Christmas

Grinch roll call: Here are the senators who voted to shut down the government before Christmas

The Senate approved a short-term spending plan to keep the government open Thursday but not without nearly a third of the chamber dissenting for various reasons.

The funding bill, called a continuing resolution, keeps the government open through mid-January. The legislation needed at least 60 votes and passed by 66 votes, with 32 nays and two senators not voting. That’s double the 14 Democrats who dissented against the temporary spending bill two weeks ago.

Most of the nay votes were from Democrats who are desperate to deal with immigration issues. During a caucus meeting Thursday, Democratic Rep. Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois criticized Chuck Schumer for not caring about the future of Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and for “throwing them under the bus,” the Washington Post reports.

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Schumer, who voted no on the spending bill, issued an ultimatum to the GOP that his party would not vote for anything more than a short term bill until Congress addresses immigration and wider domestic spending issues. He also mentioned that the $81 billion emergency spending bill the House passed Thursday would not go forward until the Senate addressed other issues.

“We’re not going to allow things like disaster relief to go forward without discussing some of these other issues we care about,” Schumer said. “We have to solve these issues together.”

Two Republican Senators — Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky — joined the dissenting votes for the spending bill. The spending bill again waived rules that would have mandated steep cuts to Medicare and other entitlement programs, which Paul didn’t want to see happen.

“Do federal deficits matter?” Paul asked.

Here are all the “nay” votes:

  1. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Nay
  2. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Nay
  3. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Nay
  4. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Nay
  5. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Nay
  6. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Nay
  7. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Nay
  8. Bob Casey (D-PA), Nay
  9. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Nay
  10. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Nay
  11. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Nay
  12. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Nay
  13. Al Franken (D-MN), Nay
  14. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Nay
  15. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Nay
  16. Maise Hirono (D-HI), Nay
  17. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Nay
  18. Mike Lee (R-UT), Nay
  19. Ed Markey (D-MA), Nay
  20. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Nay
  21. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Nay
  22. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Nay
  23. Patty Murray (D-WA), Nay
  24. Rand Paul (R-KY), Nay
  25. Jack Reed (D-RI), Nay
  26. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Nay
  27. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Nay
  28. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Nay
  29. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Nay
  30. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Nay
  31. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Nay
  32. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Nay

A lump of coal for all.

This report, by Thomas Phippen, was cross posted by arrangement with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

LU Staff

LU Staff

Promoting and defending liberty, as defined by the nation’s founders, requires both facts and philosophical thought, transcending all elements of our culture, from partisan politics to social issues, the workings of government, and entertainment and off-duty interests. Liberty Unyielding is committed to bringing together voices that will fuel the flame of liberty, with a dialogue that is lively and informative.

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