Dem
47
GOP
53
We are man enough (and woman enough) to admit it when we got it wrong. We thought that being freed of having to face the voters, Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) would go hunt for where they misplaced their spines and at least go out with their heads held high instead of bowing and genuflecting deeply to King Donald I. We were wrong. We apologize.
On Thursday, the Senate began a marathon debate on giving ICE another $70 billion, in addition to the $100 billion in
unspent funds it already has. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced an amendment that would permanently block
Trump's $1.776 billion slush fund to pay off people who stormed the Capitol and beat the Capitol police on Jan. 6 and
other Trump cronies. The amendment was defeated 50-49, with all four of the above-mentioned cowards senators
voting against it. The Cowardly Lion would be embarrassed by this. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) missed the vote, but his
vote for it wouldn't have mattered since J.D. Vance would have broken the tie and defeated the amendment anyway.
You know which Republicans
voted for
the amendment? Three senators in very tough reelection battles: Susan Collins (R-ME), Jon Husted (R-OH), and Dan
Sullivan (R-AK). They want something—anything—to show the voters they oppose outright corruption, at least a
little bit. They voted for the amendment not because it was the right thing to do, but because they thought it would
help their election chances with voters who are tired of so much winning corruption.
The gang of four cowardly senators tried to hide their cowardice by supporting an amendment introduced by Tillis to appropriate $1.8 billion for a "fraud enforcement" fund. Democrats said that voting for a slush fund with a slightly different name to be managed by Deputy AG Todd Blanche didn't meet their objective of getting rid of slush funds, whatever they are called. Twelve Republican senators voted for Tillis' slush fund, namely three of the four cowards (not McConnell), the three frightened senators in tough races, and John Curtis (R-UT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Todd Young (R-IN). Three Democrats also voted for it after Schumer's amendment failed: Amy Klobuchar (DFL-MN), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH). It also failed.
In the end, the ICE bill passed on an almost party line vote, 52-47, with Murkowski voting with the Democrats. (V)