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Posted on 12/13/2014 6:41:39 AM PST by SoConPubbie
Sen. Ted Cruz, the firebrand conservative freshman from Texas, has blown up the Senate leadership’s plans to have a peaceful weekend by forcing round-the-clock votes on President Obama’s nominees and the $1.1 trillion omnibus.
Cruz took to the floor late Friday to castigate congressional leaders for trying to pass the 1,600-page spending bill after only a few hours of debate and questioned the resolve of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to fight Obama’s executive order protecting five million illegal immigrants from deportation.
“Even though millions of voters rose up just one month ago to protest how President Obama and the Senate Democrats were running Washington, business as usual is continuing inside the marble halls of the United State Congress,” Cruz said in a fiery floor speech.
Because of objections from Cruz and his ally Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the Senate will begin slogging through procedural votes on nominees starting at noon Saturday and vote to end a filibuster of the omnibus spending package at 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
“It appears that we’re going to have to have a series of votes all day tomorrow starting as soon as we get here and perhaps into the morning,” Reid said shortly before temporarily adjourning the chamber Friday night.
A senior Senate Democratic aide said the Senate may hold up to 40 procedural votes on nominees this weekend due to what he called the “extreme pettiness on the part of Republicans.”
The plan sets up a final vote on the omnibus at 7 am Monday and confirmation votes on 20 nominees starting Monday.
Reid attempted to postpone work until 5 pm Monday to avoid requiring Senators having to vote throughout the day on Saturday and early morning Sunday but Lee objected, citing the “grave concerns” of the American people “with the president’s decision to take action unilaterally with regard to executive amnesty.”
“I don’t see any reason why the United States Senate should suspend its operations while the American people are waiting for us to act,” he said.
Cruz will force colleagues to vote Sunday on a point-of-order procedural objection that he is raising to the spending bill to protest Obama’s immigration order.
“This procedural tool will ensure that every Senator will be on record regarding the constitutionality of President Obama's illegal amnesty,” said Cruz’s spokeswoman Catherine Frazier.
Cruz questioned whether McConnell and Boehner are fully committed to battling Obama on immigration.
“I would note that a whole lot of citizens across the country feel a little bit like Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football, wherein fight after fight leadership in Congress says, we’ll fight next time — not this time, no, no, no. The wise thing to do is to fight in a month, fight in two months,” he said on the Senate floor.
The senior Democratic aide noted McConnell left the Capitol Friday evening apparently believing he had a deal with Reid to avoid a weekend vote-a-rama, telling reporters, “see ya Monday.”
“Senator McConnell left the Capitol apparently thinking there was a deal but his caucus rejected it after he left, while Senator Cruz took to the Senate floor to openly question Senator McConnell’s honesty and integrity,” the aide said.
Republican senators and aides said Friday they were prepared to approve the omnibus and a package extending expired tax provisions that same day. The GOP sources said the only hold up was Reid’s insistence on also confirming 20 of Obama’s nominees.
Democrats, however, said Cruz remained an obstacle, dismissing what one aide called “the crocodile tear act” on nominees.
“Republican objections to voting on the government funding bill itself are holding up an agreement to vote on the government funding bill,” the Democratic aide said.
The Texas freshman certainly did not sound like someone prepared to okay swift action on the omnibus as he railed against it Friday evening.
“This bill is not designed to help working Americans. It is designed to pay off all the promises made to lobbyists who funded campaigns over the past year,” Cruz said in his lengthy floor statement.
“Before the United States Senate is a bill that does nothing, absolutely nothing to stop President Obama’s illegal and unconstitutional amnesty,” he said.
Reid set up a vote early Sunday to end filibusters of the spending bill and executed a procedural maneuver to block colleagues from amending it.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, a conservative Republican from Alabama, wants to offer an amendment that would prohibit the use of federal funds for Obama’s order halting deportations.
Liberal star Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants a vote on amendment that would strip language repealing a key provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law restricting derivatives trading by government-insured banks.
Neither Sessions or Warren will get a chance to amend the omnibus unless Senate leaders craft a deal that would speed consideration of the package in exchange for votes on amendments.
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Thank God for Ted Cruz!
I keep finding reason to like Cruz more each and every day.
GO TED!
Thank you Ted! You are my hero, you and Mike Lee.
Ted Cruz did not go to Washington to make friends. He went there to make waves. God Bless this man!
McConnell is a nasty piece of work.
Cruz needs We The People’s support. Urge everyone to call the spineless, gutless eunuchs in DC 24/7 at:
202-224-3121
Apparently, the November election didn’t send Boehner and McConnell any message.
Cruz and Lee: Guts and brains, in that order. A potent combination.
This is exactly what needs to be done. Point out exactly what a travesty this garbage legislation is from the standpoint of the middle-class. The people who have been getting absolutely hammered for the last 6 years.
Look for the media, RINO wing, corporate Democrats and its minions to try to destroy him.
I see CRUZ and Lee and a couple others as our republics only hope.
I pray my hope is not misplaced.
He is becoming the Conscience of the Senate. Unfortunately there are about 75 candidates for the position of Sphincter Muscle of the Senate.
Oh they got the message....I sent one too via e mail and it was strongly worded...obviously they did not listen.
However they take orders, just like Zero, from the NWO.
Cruz/Lee/Sessions bump.
At least 3% of the Senators are concerned about the American people.
It appears that conservatives have at least one adult in congress. Cruz for President!
What about calling and saying a big thank you to CRUZ, Lee and Sessions for standing up for the people? I think I will do that!
McConnell is a traitorous piece of RINO excrement.
One thing about it, Senator Cruz isn’t going along with the rest of the sheep. He’s the REAL “maverick” in the Senate.
Thank you Senator Cruz. Stand tall and stand fast. We need more American elected officials like you who love America more than they like power, pleasure and perks and place the health and good of our nation well down on their list of what is really important.
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