On Thursday afternoon following one last valiant stand against the bloated bill by Republican Mike Lee of Utah, the U.S. Senate passed a $1.7 trillion, 4,155-page omnibus bill — with significant help from Republicans who apparently enjoy cozying up with Democrats and President Biden's out of touch priorities more than standing up for conservative principles or Republican priorities.
As Katie noted, the final vote came down 68-29 to pass the monstrous funding bill. Most Republicans in the Senate, wisely, voted against the legislation that throws taxpayer dollars at "border security activities" in a handful of Middle Eastern countries but explicitly prevents funds sent to Customs and Border Protection from being used on border security. And don't get us started on the multi-million dollar expenditure of tax dollars for a Michelle Obama bike trail.
So, who are the Republicans who decided to try to earn goodwill with Democrats while spurning their party and conservative voters? Here's the list of the 18 who sided with Democrats:
- Roy Blunt of Missouri
- John Boozman of Arkansas
- Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
- Susan Collins of Maine
- John Cornyn of Texas
- Tom Cotton of Arkansas
- Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
- Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma
- Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
- Jerry Moran of Kansas
- Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
- Rob Portman of Ohio
- Mitt Romney of Utah
- Mike Rounds of South Dakota
- Richard Shelby of Alabama
- John Thune of South Dakota
- Roger Wicker of Mississippi
- Todd Young of Indiana
The Republicans who did not join Democrats to sweep the omnibus to easy passage didn't mince words in reacting to the massive spending package's passage.
"Democrats have expanded the size of our federal government to a point we can no longer afford," noted Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). "Because of the piecemeal way Congress has approached funding the government over the past two decades, we are forced to consider massive budgets at the last minute. This makes oversight of spending nearly impossible — and worsens inflation that’s crushing working families," Tuberville added. "Americans have to live within their means while Congress burns money we don’t have. I opposed the omnibus because Congress should be responsible enough to spend no more than we can afford, just as Americans do every day," he said.
Senator Mike Lee, who mounted the strongest Republican opposition to the omnibus, released a video after the 4,155-page bill was passed by the upper chamber. "It is literally true to say that not a single member who supported this really understood what was in it," Lee explained of the bill's voluminous pages. "We can do better and we must," he added.
My thoughts following the unfortunate passage of the $1.7 trillion omnibus. pic.twitter.com/LwoFgf5ZvF
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) December 22, 2022
Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa also sounded off after the omnibus passed, saying "Washington’s budget process is completely broken," adding that "overall this massive, last-minute, 4,200 page spending package is a lump of coal."
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana also released a video explaining why he opposed the omnibus bill and, as only he can, why it was bad legislation and bad governance. "There are many people here in Washington, not just on the Democratic side — there are many big government Republicans as well — and their attitude is we can't possible spend enough money," Kennedy explained. "If they ran out of money to spend and couldn't borrow any more, they would think about taking out a reverse mortgage on Alaska to get the money," he quipped.
I voted against the $1.7 TRILLION omnibus spending bill. Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/K0AqtMbkwu
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) December 22, 2022
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