Senators cleared a $1.1 trillion spending bill after defeating an attempt to block funding for President Obama’s executive amnesty. 22 senators voted for the defunding attempt and 74 voted against it.
In advance of the vote, defunding proponent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., told Breibart News:
“Forcing a vote on the constitutionality of Obama's amnesty is important for two reasons. First, since President Obama enacted his unilateral amnesty after the elections, Democrats have never been made to answer for it. Tonight, they will and they will show America whether they stand with a lawless President, who is defying the will of the voters or the millions of Americans who want a safe and legal immigration system. Second, it allows Republicans to also show they are committed to ending Obama's amnesty once and for all in the next Congress. If we agree it is indeed unconstitutional, we have no business funding it when the GOP controls Congress.”
Sen. Cruz forced the issue on Friday by requesting a constitutional point of order to question the constitutionality of the executive amnesty. At the same time Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, offered an amendment that would have prohibited the Administration from using funds to implement the executive amnesty.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., thwarted the attempt but Sens. Cruz and Lee forced him to keep the Senate in session over the weekend. Reid eventually agreed to hold a vote on Sunday but it failed to garner enough support after Republican leaders lined up Senators against it
The spending bill, which pass on a 56-40 vote, funds through the end of the fiscal year all government agencies except the Department of Homeland Security, which is funded only through Feb. 27.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, pledged to challenge Obama's executive amnesty next year but Sen. Cruz said they can’t be trusted. "We will learn soon enough if those statements are genuine and sincere," Cruz said.
Read more in Breitbart News and The Washington Times.
