Senate Democrats voted down a series of conservative amendments to a massive spending package which would have prevented the use of federal funds to facilitate the unprecedented and ongoing wave illegal immigration at the southern border.
The spending package then passed with bipartisan support.
“Every single Senate Democrat voted against my amendment that would stop Biden Admin from using taxpayer dollars to charter flights for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens from their countries directly to American towns to be resettled. Indefensible,” said Sen. Bill Haggerty (R-Tenn.) on X.
Sen. Haggerty’s amendment would have indirectly prevented the federal government from funding chartered flights bringing illegal immigrants directly from their home countries into the U.S. by tabling another amendment put forward by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
The senate vote on the Hagerty amendment was held in the early morning, at 1:35 am on Saturday, and saw unanimous opposition from Democrats, with a final result of 51 against to 47 in favor, with two Republicans, Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) absent.
Sen. Angus King (D-Maine) voted with Democrats against the amendment, while Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted with her party in support of the amendment.
Hours before the senate rejected Haggerty’s motion, another Republican amendment meant to curtail illegal immigration suffered the same fate.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) proposed an amendment which would have stopped federal funding for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) app from being used to help people attempting to enter the country illegally.
Not a single Democrat voted to stop the government from aiding criminals with taxpayer money, and the amendment failed, with 51 against and 45 voting in favor.
Once again, the vote was largely split along party lines, with four Republicans absent, while Sen. King voted with Democrats and Sen. Collins voted with her party.
Republicans also failed to pass amendments that would have stopped the release of illegal immigrations deemed security risks into the country, and one which would stop funding local governments which fail to report to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) before releasing illegals.
Conservative senate failures over the weekend were not limited to illegal immigration, they also failed to stop Democrats from using federal funding to restrict free speech.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) put forward a motion which would have barred federal funds from being used to label speech as disinformation and stopped the government from coercing online platforms into removing speech.
“My amendment tackles a fundamental that should bring us together as a senate, protecting Americans’ First Amendment rights in the virtual town square. The First Amendment is the beating heart of our constitution,” said Sen. Schmitt on the senate floor.
Like the other two amendments, Schmitt’s failed following a party line vote with support from Collins and opposition from King.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) attempt to stop federal funding for schools which allow biological males into girl’s sports also failed.
Amid the flurry of Republican losses, the Senate voted to pass the massive $1.2 trillion spending package, which was then sent to the president and signed into law.
Despite the Republican failures in the bill, the final vote was supported by numerous Republicans, including Collins, with 74 senators voting in favor and 24 voting against during a 2:00 am vote.
Twenty-two Republicans opposed the bill, along with Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Color.) who wanted it to contain more aid for Ukraine, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-V.T.) who held out for aid to Palestine.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) came under fire from many in his party for advancing the massive spending package, which provides funding for multiple Democrat causes, in an attempt to avert a possible government shutdown.
After the spending package passed through the house on Friday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a resolution calling for the removal of Rep. Johnson from his position as speaker.
“This is a betrayal of the American people. This is a betrayal of Republican voters. And the bill that we were forced to vote on forced Republicans to choose between funding to pay our soldiers and, in doing so, funding late-term abortion. This bill was basically a dream and a wish list for Democrats and for the White House,” said Rep. Greene.
Greene said that her resolution is meant as a warning for the Speaker, but affirmed that she does not want to spark a major conflict among House Republicans.
The house will not vote on the motion to vacate the speaker position immediately, and, according to information provided to CNN, Greene plans to use the coming two-week recess to consider when to bring the resolution to a vote.
Greene’s resolution was filed fewer than six months after Johnson took over as speaker from Kevin McCarthy, the former speaker who was removed after he, like Johnson, worked with Democrats to avert a government shutdown.
[RELATED: Ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Announces He Will Leave Congress at the End of This Year…]
McCarthy himself served as Speaker for less than a year, and has since left congress entirely.
